The Seventh Halfblood
by pupcuz1
Summary: At the end of the Last Olympian, Rachel foretold of seven half-bloods. Lissa, a Jersey girl, must now find out she is to be the final member of this group. What will befall her and her comrades? Find out.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: Just My Luck

Life is ironic. You hit ever single red light when you are already running late. Your favorite store is having a one day only sale when you just spent the last of your cash. The person you like finally starts dating the day you get the nerve to tell him how you feel. Now most people only have one of these issues every once in a while. All of them together just make up a Tuesday for me. Add that to my ADD, ADHD, my other alphabetic learning disabilities, and dyslexia and you get the bane of my existence.

Dad tells me to keep my chin up. Easy for him to say. The worse thing that has ever happened to him is Mom left me with him, and he isn't even upset by that. Sure he misses her like crazy, but he is glad to have me with him. "Lissa," he'll say, "your mom gave me the best present ever, you." Then he'll hug me.

I wonder what Mom looks like. I look too much like Dad to have a clue. With our chocolate eyes and hair, people never doubt we are father and daughter.

Dad and I live in Jersey, almost on the beach. Dad says that is where he met Mom. "She was eating a golden delicious apple and just watching people," he'll tell me. When I ask for more details, he just returns to his favorite topic, the Pythagorean Theorem. I do get to go to their special spot every summer, though. Dad and I pack up a picnic full of golden delicious apples (Mom and I share that as a favorite food) and just sit and people watch. That was how I met them.

I was collecting sea glass for a mosaic table top I was making to replace the one I broke not two days before. They were walking hand in hand and making kissy faces at each other. My foot had once again found the only shell not collected and I tripped, spilling the glass shards on them as I fell. One piece sliced his arm good as he fell in the water. I saw the blood drip before he and the water made contact.

"Oh no! I am so sorry! I am a huge klutz and now your hurt! Let me get you over to my dad! He has a kit on him just for this! Come on!" I said in a rush as I knelt down to examine his arm. Except that there was no cut. Nothing. I racked my brain to be sure that I saw him get hurt. Yep, he had a huge cut before the water. His girlfriend leaned done, too.

"Percy, are you alright?" she asked in a voice that sounded like she knew he was fine, but he needed to tell me that.

"Yep, Wise Girl. I am all good," he said more to me than her.

"But I saw you get cut. The gash was an inch long, but kind of deep," I said. I knew enough about cuts to rival a doctor.

"No, you must have just imagined it. Are you alright though, …?" he asked.

"Lissa, and yes, I am just dandy. It's you I am worried about. Are you sure you don't need a Band-Aid or something?" I asked again, starting to get a bit suspicious. These two had looks that said they wanted to get away fast because I wouldn't let this go.

"I am awesome, Lissa. Do you need help picking up your sea glass?" he asked.

"Sure…." I said slowly.

"Well, let's get it picked up!" the girl said. "I'm Annabeth, by the way and he's Percy. It is nice to meet you, Lissa."

"You, too. I haven't seen you around here before. Are you new?" I asked. I would have remembered them from school. It was the only high school in town and I knew everyone from causing them an injury from one time or another.

"No, we're from NYC. Annabeth wanted to see the Greek exhibit on architecture you have here. She lives for that kind of thing," Percy said. "You look familiar, though. Have you been to New York lately?"

"No. I have never left Jersey my entire life. New York couldn't handle my brand of chaos. I always seem to be causing problems for people. It's just my luck."

"Really?" Annabeth got really wide eyes. She turned to Percy and gave him a weird look.

"Yes?" I was so lost.

"Umm…This will seem random, but do you have dyslexia or ADHD?" he asked.

"Both. Why, is it obvious?" I was really worried now if these guys somehow knew I was no good at school just by bumping into them.

"You know what? I think I did get a scratch. Can we go get that Band-Aid from your dad?" Percy said with a sound of urgency.

"Sure…. He's over here with the picnic basket. Follow me." I felt weird about this now sudden need for medical attention, especially since I could have sworn he took some glass out of my bucket and cut his arm a little. What was wrong with these people?

Dad was reading a book on math and eating a sandwich. He had the kit sitting in his lap since I usually needed its contents at least once a trip. He looked up when he saw extra people with me.

"Dad, this is Percy and Annabeth. Percy , Annabeth, this is my dad, James Connor. Dad, Percy got cut on some of my glass and needs a bandage," I said.

"Oh no! Hang on, let me get one. Sorry about this. Lissa has a habit of causing things like this. Not that she does it on purpose or anything! She just can't help herself," Dad explained.

"We heard. I read something about kids like this and I was wondering, has this been happening for a while?" Annabeth asked.

"Only since the day she was born. Her mother said she was born under an unlucky star, but I think luck is all in the head." Dad chuckled at some private joke and the Weird Couple just made a face at each other. One of horror. Now I was really scared; scared that these people were taking way too much interest in me for random strangers.

"Umm…is Mrs. Connor here? I would like to ask her something, too," Annabeth asked looking over Dad's shoulder anxiously.

"No, I never married Lissa's mother and she left not long after Lissa was born. What is this reading you did about?" Dad was starting to get uneasy, too. I could tell.

"I'll tell you after Lissa answers one final question. What is your favorite food?" Annabeth asked me in a tone that said this was life or death.

"Golden Delicious Apples. What's going on?"

"We found you," Percy said as he grabbed dad's and my arms.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: I learn how to call on the hose

Now, I haven't had a lot of experience with kidnapping (ok none before this. I just watched it happen on TV) but I think that most people don't take you to your house. After practically ripping off our arms to get to the parking lot, Percy quickly asked Dad to find the car and take us to our house. "I just hope we aren't too late," he told Annabeth in a worried voice. She nodded in agreement. They still hadn't told Dad and me what was going on, so we just made confused looks to each other.

After driving as quickly as possible without breaking any traffic laws, we got home and ran inside. Percy locked the door and started closing blinds and curtains all around. Annabeth was pacing the floor and glancing anxiously at Percy and me. Dad was shaking his leg and watching the randomness ensue.

"I think we are safe for now. It will be worse once she knows, but for now we are ok," he told Annabeth.

"Are you sure, Seaweed Brain? We need to figure out how to get her and her father to safe places preferably without anything getting in our way. If she knows, then we lose that small window of opportunity. Could we get him to your mom's house and tell them on the way? Or even once we get there? We are too far away to get her to Camp to be spilling the beans now. We'll draw enough attention as is."

"You have a good point, but they are going to be resistant to leaving if they don't know what is happening. Time isn't on our side if they won't come. We are running late enough without anymore disruptions."

"Call your mom. Maybe she could meet us somewhere, like that one beach you like. Montauk."

"That might not be a bad place to do it. That way she can get him out of there and we can get to Camp much faster. I'll call her and you call Camp. Do you have a drachma or do you need one?"

"I've got some. I just need to find the hose. Lissa, can you show me where your garden hose is?"

"Sure…." What a way to find myself back in the middle of this weird situation.

"Good. While we are outside, Percy, talk to you mom and talk to him. Tell him everything." With that, she pushed me out the door.

I led Annabeth outside to the hose and she grabbed the end, put it in my hand, and turned on the water. After moving the gentle stream until it made a small rainbow, she pulled out a large gold coin. She threw it in the water and said, "Oh Iris, goddess of the Rainbow, accept my offering. Chiron, please."

All of a sudden, the water started talking to her. The voice was male and deep and said, "Annabeth? What's going on?" I thought I had gone nuts. Then she started talking back.

"Chiron, we found her and we need you to send Argus to Montauk beach to meet us. She is going to be very confused, but we felt it would be safest this way. Sally is going to meet us there as well and take her dad with her, just to be on the safe side."

"Good call. Are you sure this is the right girl?'

"She causes destruction and like golden delicious apples. What do you think?"

"It sounds like this is the right girl. Get to Montauk as fast as you can and be careful."

"Bye Chiron." She ran her hand through the water and turned off the hose. She turned to me as if she just remembered I was here.

"I don't know what the heck you and your nut job boyfriend are planning to do with Dad and me, but I am not going anywhere without any answers. So I highly suggest you and him start explaining, starting with why you and my hose just had a conversation." I was done just standing by without speaking up for myself.

"I'll answer the hose question, but all the rest will have to wait. I just talked to someone at my summer camp through an Iris-Message. The goddess Iris sometimes carries messages for people like us if we make a monetary offering to her and a rainbow." She looked at me, daring me to doubt her.

I did.

"Umm… do I need to call an asylum? Do you have these delusions often?"

"Honey, she is telling the truth and we need to go with them and quickly. When the time is right, they will explain everything to you, but they can't right now. If you don't trust them, trust me," Dad said to me as he and Percy walked towards us.

"Why should I? This whole thing is nuts!" I exclaimed.

"You should because they can tell you anything you want to know about your mom. Anything I can't or won't tell you," he said sadly.

"Tell me her name and I'll come along," I said to Annabeth, doubting they knew anything.

"Her name is Eris."

We jumped into the car and drove off.


	3. Chapter 3

My Bus Driver's a Monster

I have known my mother's name for a long time. I begged Dad to tell me it for years and finally at age 6, he did. This was the only detail he would tell me. I thought her name was pretty. It matched my mental image of a pretty blonde model type with perfect teeth and tan skin. Weirdly, I had never thought to search the name on the internet. Maybe I was afraid that I would be disappointed with what I found, or maybe I was afraid I wouldn't find anything and feel the effort was wasted. I'll never know why, but since the information I would find out would be much more helpful than any Google search I'm glad I never did. It just made it easier to comprehend.

The car ride to Montauk took what seemed like forever since I was so lost in my thoughts. The beach looked very similar to the one we had all met at hours before, but for some reason it felt like this was Percy's spot. I don't know what made me think that, but the second he stepped on the sand, I felt like the beach just got brighter, cleaner, and more serine. It reminded me of how I felt when I stepped on Mom's and Dad's special beach. It just felt right.

We found a very pretty woman, a good-looking man, and a monster waiting for us. The first thought that popped in my head was why the human couple was not freaking out. After looking at Percy and Annabeth, my second thought was why I was the only one who was freaking out. Thankfully, Dad gave a disturbed look to me after seeing the monster. Whew! I wasn't crazy!

"Percy, care to inform me on why there is a scary monster on the beach and why Dad and I are the only ones who care?" I asked in a scared voice.

"Oh, that's Argus. He'll be the one taking us to Camp. Don't worry, we will explain everything once we get there," he replied in a calming tone.

"Heh Heh! That is really funny! You actually think I am going to go anywhere with a monster. Has anyone told you how funny you are?" I said hysterically.

"Calm down, Lissa. Do you trust us?" Annabeth asked.

"I think so, yes," I replied.

"Then do you think we would let you get in a car with a monster that would hurt you?" She asked.

"No," I sighed.

"Alright then, let's go meet Percy's mom and stepdad. They are going to take your dad somewhere safe," Annabeth said as she dragged me over to the cute couple. They were holding hands and talking intently to Percy who had walked over as Annabeth was getting me to relax. You could tell that the woman was Percy's mom since they both had such kind faces. She seemed so happy to see Percy.

"Hi Mr. and Mrs. Blofis! Nice seeing you again! How are you?" Annabeth asked when we reached them. She seemed comfortable talking to them. I guessed she and Percy must have been serious to have already met the parents.

"Annabeth, we told you to call us Sally and Paul. Things are going well by the way. How about things with you?" Sally asked.

"I'm doing well, thanks. By the way, this is Lissa Conner. Lissa, this is Sally and Paul Blofis," Annabeth said as we shook hands.

"It is a pleasure to meet you! You have no idea how long Percy and Annabeth have been looking for you. If it makes you feel better about being in the dark, it is much safer this way," Sally told me.

"Also, if it makes you feel better, your dad will be in safe hands with us. We know what to look out for," Paul said.

I don't know how to feel right know, but I guess I'll just go with it right now. Are you guys ok with my dad living with you? You just met him," I said.

"Of course it is alright. We will get along just fine," Sally said with a knowing smile.

"We need to get going, Lissa. Time isn't on our side. Bye Mom, Paul. I'll talk to you soon," Percy said while hugging his mom and shaking his stepfather's hand.

"Ok, we'll leave. Just let me say bye to my dad," I requested. Annabeth and Percy nodded as if to give me their consent. I ran over to him and gave him a huge hug. "Are you sure I should go with them?" I whispered to him while hugging.

"I would have called the police long before now if I wasn't sure, Hon. Promise me you will stay safe?" he asked.

"I'll do my best. Love you, Dad."

"Love you, Lissa. Don't let anything get you down. Luck is just a state of mind, even for you," he said as he let me go and walked toward the Blofises. I didn't understand what he meant when he said "even for you," but I soon would, especially when you go to camp with a monster.


	4. Chapter 4

Apples aren't Just for Eating

_Thanks to those who have written reviews and subscribed! You all rock! Hope you enjoy chapter four, but fair warning, this chapter is long!_

The drive to the mysterious Camp was uneventful, but Percy and Annabeth were tense the whole trip. I don't know what they were expecting. Percy gripped a pen for dear life and Annabeth strangled a Yankees' cap while they both watched the windows. My concerns were focused on the monster driving, but all Argus did was growl and grumble to himself, frequently.

WE came upon a hill that was topped not by a concurring flag but rather a sign announcing Camp Half-Blood. I had no clue what on the good ol' Earth a "Half-Blood" was, though a popular book series about wizards and witches fighting an evil wizard who couldn't seem to die did pop in my head. I never figured out what was bothering my travel companions, but apparently it passed as we did the same through the gates. I was afraid that whatever they were worried for would never stop bothering them.

The first thing I saw when I got out of the van was a centaur. If you think I'm joking, I won't blame you. I did a quadruple take before my brain finally wrapped itself around the concept. He was standing next to a Cyclopes. Yeah, that kind of Cyclopes. It ran toward Percy shouting something about Daddy and getting a vacation. I was too freaked out that I was even hearing _anything_ being said by a Cyclopes to get the full message! The centaur used a slow gait to close the gap between us and introduced himself.

"I am Chiron, trainer of heroes and one of the two camp counselors here. Mr. D. chose to make his acquaintance later. May I presume you are Miss Lissa Connor?" He asked as he extended his hand for me to shake.

"Yes you may, but I am Josefina Gonzales of Mexico," I joked as he gave me a confused look. "Just kidding! Dad says I need to keep things light in awkward situations. I am Lissa, pleasure to meet you. By the way, if you are expecting me to freak out right now, I am on the inside," I told him. This time he laughed, even though I was dead serious. People around here must have a weird sense of humor.

"I could only hope so! If you don't mind, I will have you follow me to the Big House. Argus will take care of your things," Chiron said as he pointed his head in the monster's direction. For some strange reason, a monster "taking care" of my stuff wasn't very comforting, but I had no real choice in the matter. I followed the horse-man wondering when I would wake up from this weird dream and if it would require therapy to get over.

It seemed that people around here weren't very creative with naming things. The Big House, for example, was a really big house. The only way its name could have been more obvious would be if it was named The Big Cafeteria, because that is what I found inside. There were a large number of tables with varying numbers of chairs. Chiron stopped at one without any and grabbed a spare one from the adjacent wall. He motioned for me to sit. I did. I turned toward him and gave him my best expectant look, fully knowing that I would have to be the one who opened the upcoming conversation. He didn't take the bait.

"Well then, I guess you are going to want questions in order to give answers," I said awkwardly.

"That _is_ how these things usually go, "Chiron replied with a chuckle, "except on the TV show Jeopardy," he amended.

"Very true! I guess I'll start with the basic question. Who is my mother?"I asked.

"Basic questions don't always give basic answers, but I concede that this is the best starting point. Your mother is Eris, goddess of pain, suffering, and chaos. She is a minor goddess with not so minor tasks. When someone needs to feel sorrow, pain, or confusion, she has to be there to provide it. For example, when someone has a loved one pass away, they don't always start crying or feeling sad. They only experience it once your mother has visited them. That is why people all accept death and the pain that goes with it at different times. You also have these abilities. They aren't nearly as strong as your mother's, but they can do quite a bit of damage. What you consider to be 'bad luck' is actually you unconsciously tapping into your powers. When you find people crying, fighting, or stressing out, you are really finding them releasing these emotions they have been suppressing. The crying person may have lost a great friendship and was trying to be strong about it. The fighting might be the straw breaking the preverbal Camel's back. The list goes on infinitely. The faster you realize how easy it is to release these powers, the faster it will be to learn to control them. Do you understand?" he asked at the end of his lecture.

"I think. My mom is a goddess in charge of pain and suffering, I can do it, too, and you're a mind reader?" I asked. I hadn't told these people about the situations I find myself in and yet he described them to a T.

"All correct except for the last one. Percy talked to me over the phone after he discussed some of your bad luck problems with your father," he laughed.

"Ah! That makes sense. I have another question. What does liking Golden Delicious apples have to do with being the daughter of Eris?" I asked confused.

"I was waiting for this one. The golden delicious apple was created by Demeter, but it was supposed to be a true golden apple. Your mother is the only one on Mount Olympus that has a personal supply. They are the envy of everyone. Demeter thought she could recreate them, but instead made a poor substitute. Ironically, though, your mother found them quite tasty and asked if she could have a separate orchard of them. Demeter just gave it to her since she was disappointed in the bad replica. Your mother gave them to humanity as a remembrance of her. The reason why you had to like them as much as you do is the fact that your mother uses her true golden apples for mischief. You see, your mother doesn't like her control over sadness nearly as much as she likes her pain and chaos. The apples are like her personal modeling clay. She can use her mind to make them into any shape she desires and use the shape to cause another suffering. She can also control the shape of their disappointing copies. I have a feeling that you tend to crave apples more often when you are in the middle of an argument or stressful situation. This again is your latent powers. Subconciously, you want to give the problem at hand more layers, more complexity. Am I right?" he asked.

"Are you sure you aren't a mind reader? I always want apples when an argument breaks out or someone is at the end of their rope. Does this make me vindictive?" I was worried.

"Not necessarily. Back then, you had no idea what was going on. Now, if you were to act on these feelings, after hearing all of this, whenever you got the chance, I might say yes. It is in human nature to want a bit more action sometimes. The only difference between you and everyone else is the fact you want more action every single time," he replied.

"Do you think I can control the shape of apples, too?" I was starting to get a bit too excited over this. I think I am vindictive on some level or another.

"Since I doubt your mother will be sending a fruit basket full of her personal apples, I think you will have some control over the human version. It will depend on your mother's opinion of you how much control you will have. After we get done talking, I'll have Percy and Annabeth take you to the training arena to test this theory along with your battle skills. Before that though, do you have any more questions?" he asked.

"I think just one. Knowing what I may bring upon everyone here, why did you go out of your way to search for me?" I asked.

"Interesting question you pose. As a demigod or half-blood, you will attract monsters. The only reason you made it to Camp safely was that Argus was driving and you had no clue about your true nature. Last year, Percy was given the chance to request anything from the gods. He requested that they swear on the River Styx, the strongest oath known in existence, to claim their children by age twelve or as soon as possible if they were passed that age. Your mother told us she claimed you, but that you would have no idea what that meant. She also told us only that you lived in New Jersey, would consider yourself unlucky, and would be crazy for golden delicious apples. That got our search going since we wanted you safe. We searched for 10 ½ months to no avail. Finally Percy told us to head back to Camp. He and Annabeth chose to stay since the town they were searching, yours, would be hosting a Greek architecture exhibit soon at the local museum. On top of this, Percy wanted to enjoy the beach when it wasn't freezing. If those two hadn't been so persistent on staying, we never would have found you. It is quite ironic," Chiron pondered.

"My life is ironic. Trust me! If everything is as you say it is, didn't you think that Mom would never let you find me as long as you look for me? It makes for a lot of chaos. I never can find anything I am looking for as long as I am looking for it. Say I need a binder for some homework. I will only find it when I decide to go watch TV and go to grab the remote. I will have never brought the binder into the family room, but there it will be. The missing remote? It will be in the microwave as I go to make some popcorn. You only found me when Percy and Annabeth had another reason to stay in town," I responded rationally.

"OF COURSE! Why did we not think of that?" a voice asked from behind me. I jumped about twelve feet when Annabeth and Percy walked up.

"Um… because that was the whole point?" Percy replied to Annabeth's question. "Lissa just said we had to find her on accident. If we purposely created a new reason to stay, her mother would have known we were still looking for her."

"Maybe, and maybe not. What do you think, Lissa?" she asked me, eager to be proven right. I hated to disappoint, but I had to.

"Whenever I try to fake myself out by creating some meaningless task in the hope of finding my stuff, I never do. It is only when I genuinely give up the search that I find whatever. By the way, how long were you standing back there?" I asked.

"Since the beginning of your questions. Tyson was easy to shake off when I promised him quality brother bonding time later," Percy replied.

"Yeah, we heard everything. Are you sure that there hasn't been a time when the tricked worked?" Annabeth asked. She wouldn't let it go. I shook my head no.

"See? I wasn't a mission that could use logic. Chaos is kind of the opposite of logic," Percy stated. This must have touched a nerve.

"Logic is always helpful, Percy. That is how you stop chaos," she said slowly and coldly. I think that single statement caused the temperature in the Big House to drop 10 degrees.

"I understand, but when you are fighting Chaos, logic isn't the best way to go. Why are you getting so defensive? I don't understa-"Percy stopped when he saw me standing there. It was as if a lightbulb went on. "Lissa, could you step outside for a moment?" he rushed the question out of his mouth almost as fast as he pushed me out of the room.

"I guess so. I don't know why though," I said as I found myself outside.

"Just trust me on this," he responded as he rushed back in. I stood confused until it dawned on me. I had just caused the fight inside.

_This wasn't nearly as long as it was going to be. I finally found a good spot to split up the chapter, so expect Chapter 5 soon! Thanks for reading!_


	5. Chapter 5

Friends are in Short Supply When You Cause Pain and Suffering Naturally

_The title sucks, but I hadn't planned on needing one since this was going to be a part of  
Chapter 4. If, after reading it, you have a better name for the chapter, let me know!_

It took only five minutes to undo the damage I caused, so either the fight was something that came up frequently, or it wasn't that important. Either way, I was just glad I didn't break up another happy couple, but I'll get to that shortly. After getting his girlfriend to calm down, Percy rejoined me outside and Annabeth tagged along this time. I reminded them that we needed to go to the battle arena and off we went.

Now that I knew what a half-blood was, I was kind of curious to find out who Percy's dad was and which parent was a god or goddess for Annabeth. So I asked, "Is it alright if I ask who the Mount Olympic parent for each of you is? If not, please say so!" I exclaimed. I didn't want to over step a boundary.

"It's fine, but for the record, names are powerful. Don't go using them whenever the mood strikes you, or else _They_ might strike you," Annabeth cautioned. I think she had wanted to drop the clever warning for a long time. By the look on his face, Percy agreed.

"Dad's Poseidon," Percy whispered. He also looked up at the sky as if he were waiting for something to come down. Nothing did. He didn't look shocked by this, though. I thought back to the Cyclopes who met us at the entrance. I vaguely remembered that any and all of them were children of the Earth Shaker. That now made a lot of sense.

"My mom's Athena," Annabeth whispered as well. She also looked toward the sky, but wasn't shocked by the lack of smiting. I guess they both were in their parents' good graces. I then thought back to the argument I caused. It now made sense why Annabeth was angry when Percy said logic wasn't needed. She lives for knowledge and things making sense. I then remembered how close I came to breaking these two up, just like I had my best friend and her boyfriend.

Three years ago, I had never known what it was like to have a friend. Everyone in town knew if I was coming, they needed to be leaving. Then one day, Matilda sat next to me at lunch. She was the only person who was ever nice to me. Looking back, I realize she pitied me and never really wanted to be my true friend, but I didn't know any better back then. After a few months of hanging out with me, she finally got the courage to ask the guy she liked if he wanted to go out with her. I was probably happier than she was when he said yes because I knew that she had relied on me to back her up to get to that point. I should have known it could only go downhill from there.

The guy was school smart, but when it came to people, he was an idiot. He frequently did the stupidest dares imaginable and never questioned why his friends abused him (they were jealous of his grades and it made them feel smart when he did stupid stuff). The beginning of the end was when he made the bet.

He asked me to tutor him in reading. That should have been my first clue because I can barely read anything straight with my dyslexia and he had read all of Shakespeare's greatest works by 7th grade. I was blinded by the hope that this would bring him and my friend closer. I was leaning over the work, trying to make heads or tails of the letters on the page when he said my name. I turned toward him and he surprise attacked me with a kiss! It was bad, too. To save you the emotional horror, I'll keep the details to myself. The worst part of all? My friend had just walked in with fresh apple crisp to thank me and only saw us kissing. In case you were wondering, the bet was to see if kissing me would bring him bad luck and he lost. We all did. I lost my first and only friend, she lost her boyfriend and devoted servant, and he lost a bet and the girl he really liked. That was my luck.

My walking companions had noticed I stopped walking and was sitting on a rock not long after I started my flashback. I was crying my eyes out when I finished remembering the whole thing. I had to ask.

"Why on Earth do you want the girl who can cause pain and suffering here with you? Do you need someone to use as an ego boost? Doormat? Personal slave? What could I possibly contribute that would benefit you past that?" I sobbed.

"No. You are a half-blood. That means for better or worse, you are one of the family. We stick together and hold on to each other for support. If you think you aren't worthy of the two of us if not every single person in this camp of standing up for you against something you can't fight alone, tell me what I need to say in order to change your mind!" Percy said in a concerned tone.

"He's right. I will do whatever you want or need if it will mean you get that we are friends and friends stick together. What will convince you?" Annabeth asked.

"You already did it. You called me your friend. The closest thing I ever had to one never called me her friend in public. She said I was her lab partner, which was true, but whenever I asked her why she said that was all we were she would change the subject as fast as possible. If you aren't afraid to call me your friend, that is all I need to know. Aren't you scared, though? I almost ruined your relationship," I had to make sure this friendship was going to last.

"If I have learned anything in this world, it is that pain, suffering, and chaos are big parts of it. I have also learned that they make us stronger when we live through them. Think about your muscles. When someone lifts weights, they are tearing their muscle cells up. The reason they get stronger is the body builds up the parts that tear to be able to last longer next time. Life is the same way. So, if you end up accidentally getting us hurt somehow, we will understand and on top of that thank you for making us stronger for the next fight we come up against. Do you understand what I am saying?" Percy asked after his excellent motivational speech.

"That if you ever go into politics, not to run against you? Absolutely! The stuff you were actually talking about? I got the highlights," I teased.

"Good! Then stop moping and let's get you in armor! The battle arena is just past these trees!" Percy exclaimed as he grabbed my hand to help me up. Once I was standing, Annabeth grabbed the other one and the three friends ran for the battle arena and I had never been happier.


	6. Chapter 6

Apples can be dangerous

_Sorry it has taken so long to get this up. I have a bunch of stuff going on right now, but rest assured that I have the story moving right along and I will get it up ASAP!_

I entered the grounds with a sense of anticipation. I felt at ease and ready to pounce all at once. Percy and Annabeth seemed to be feeling something of the same. I was ready for whatever was coming. Unfortunately, it was a sword. Percy handed it to me as soon as I had my armor on. He removed his pen's cap and a sword replaced it. The sword moved fluidly in Percy's grip. It looked right at home. My sword felt awkward in my hands and after two minutes, we decided I wasn't meant for sword fighting.

Annabeth was next. She handed me a small knife as she revealed her own personal one. Once again we found this wasn't the weapon of choice for me. After trying every single weapon type in our armory, we still had no match. I thought about these failures and remembered my favorite toy as a child.

"Do you have a sling shot?" I asked.

"No, why?" Percy asked in response.

"I did alright with one as a kid. If only we had one of those," I sighed.

"Wait! Do you have an apple on you?" Annabeth asked.

"Always. Why? Are you hungry?" I was confused.

"No, but remember how Chiron told you that you can control the shape of them? You can make a sling shot! I even have a slightly stretched rubber band right here," she said as she handed it over. The band wasn't as tight as I would have liked, but it would have to do. I grabbed and apple and held it in front of my eyes. I had no clue how this was supposed to work, but I imagined a sling shot with a slightly wider mouth to accommodate the loose band. I watched as the apple grew, stretched, and became my mental image. It felt right. I put the band in the niches I had set up for it and picked up a large pebble. I looked around for something to focus on. I spotted an archery target about 30 yards off.

"I'm going to get a bull's eye on that target," I told my friends.

"Umm… wouldn't you rather aim for something closer? Like the tree over there?" Percy asked gently as he pointed at a tree only a few feet away. I shook my head and took aim. I released. The pebble hit just outside the bull's eye. Darn!

"Woah! That was awesome!" Annabeth exclaimed with an impressed tone.

"No it wasn't. I missed the bull's eye. I'll be able to get it right when I get a better band," I contradicted, disappointed.

"Yes, it was awesome. If you could miss the bull's eye by that tiny bit from 30 yards out with what you consider to be a defective band, you can do so much more with a great one. How far can you hit if you have a good rubber band?" Percy inquired, hanging on my every word.

"Umm… when I was younger and had a good rubber band, I could hit my target from about 50 yards away. I'm a bit rusty now, so I would say probably 40-45 now," I pondered.

"I think I have just the job for you, tonight," Annabeth said with a wicked grin.


	7. Chapter 7

I found a whole new meaning for feeding the fire

_I hope you are ready for this!_

We headed straight from the practice field to supper. Annabeth was talking strategy with Percy about whatever was happening tonight. I caught "archers," "forked clearing," and "Nico." I had no clue what it all meant, but I didn't really care. I knew they would clue me in when the time was right. I just watched people head from their cabins to the Big House. I saw a guy who I could have sworn was a shadow, a girl muttering about "star maps," a girl who just gave me the biggest victory smile, and a guy who looked like he was eight even though Percy told me that people rarely showed up prior to their twelfth birthday. I didn't know who they were, but I got a strong vibe that told me I would need to.

I entered the Big House and was told by Percy that I would have to eat by myself since I was the first and possibly only half-blood child of Eris. He explained that we ate with our siblings and also shared the same cabin with them. He looked concerned about me sitting by myself, but I told him that I would be alright. I had always sat alone. This was nothing new. They both ran to find their cabins and sat down. Annabeth had a handful of brothers and sisters. Percy just sat with the Cyclopes I vaguely remembered him calling Tyson. I glanced around and saw each table had kids sitting at them except for three. Each group had defining qualities, also. One table was full of really pretty people who kept looking at themselves in mirrors. Another table was full of kids who were practicing instruments and carrying bows and arrows. I found yet another with the girl who smiled at me adding some tally marks to a board that was keeping track of some ongoing contest. The shadow guy sat in the darkest corner with others who also had dark qualities. The star map girl was arguing with her brother over something in their telescope. The younger boy sat with a bunch of other younger kids (I guess that godly parent wanted a bunch of kids all at once).

I finally looked at the table next to mine. There was one solitary guy. He looked like he was into the Goth scene. The only part that didn't match his black ensemble was the aviator jacket he wore. There was something about him that screamed "bad boy," yet I also got the feeling that he was more often the kind of person who would help you out no matter what. Out of all the tables, he was the only one who also had no one to sit with. I suddenly wished I could join him or have him join me. It was the first time I had ever felt sad I was sitting alone. I wanted to send him some solidarity vibes, and as if he felt them, he turned toward me. I then felt very self-conscious because I had been staring at him, which I knew was incredibly rude. When I turned back to apologize, I caught _him_ staring at _me_. This time he turned away quickly. I smiled to myself for reasons I didn't understand.

I was going to look at him again when Chiron tried to attract our attention. He raised a glass and said, "To the Gods!"

"To the Gods!" everyone replied in kind, except me.

"To the Gods!" I whispered to myself. I saw everyone drinking, but I found my cup empty. I guessed that they forgot to give me whatever to drink, but then I saw something out of the corner of my eye. The guy from the next table over motioned for me to pick up my cup. I followed his directions. He then leaned close to his cup and made a mouth with his hand. He opened and closed his hand next to the cup. OH! I was supposed to tell the cup what I wanted. I felt silly, but I whispered to my cup, "Apple juice." The cup suddenly filled with the clear gold liquid. I gave the guy a thumbs-up sign. He smiled.

These pretty girls started carrying out plates of food. One with golden delicious apples skipped all the others and plopped the whole contents down on my table. There were at least twenty apples!

"Chiron told me to tell you he'll get you a proper band and you can take as many of these with you as you want. I am even supposed to give you this satchel to carry them in," the girl told me.

"Thanks!" I replied and she walked off. I started to grab the apples and put the majority in my bag, but I got the feeling that Next-Table-Guy was going to tell me not to just yet. Sure enough, I saw him shaking his head. He motioned me to grab the large tray and follow him. I did.

"You're new, aren't you?" Next-Table-Guy asked. His voice was deep and slightly gravel-y. I could get used to it.

"Is it that obvious?" I asked.

"You didn't know about the cups or the burnt offerings. Those are typical signs of a newbie. Usually your siblings teach you or back when we were mostly undetermined, someone from Hermes cabin would show you the ropes. I guess you don't have any siblings?" he asked.

"As far as I know! Percy says I may even be Mom's only half-blood child. I guess that means I may have full god or goddess siblings, but I have no clue. I'm Lissa Connor, by the way," I say as I attempt to extend my hand and not drop the heavy tray of apples.

"I'm Nico. I think we'll have to save the hand shake for later, though," he said trying not to laugh at my struggles.

"Sounds like a plan! Umm… you mentioned a burnt offering. What are we burning?" I asked.

"You burn some part of your meal that looks particularly good. You throw it into the fire and pray it reaches your parent. Something tells me you are going to offer an apple," he chuckled. He had a nice laugh.

"Mom is Eris. She is the goddess of pain, suffering, and chaos. When she isn't off taking care of the naturally occurring pain and chaos, she uses her gold apples to whip up some. These are the Earth version of them since humans can't have real gold apples," I replied as we neared the front of the line.

"Ah! Dad is Hades. He talks about your mom a lot. I guess that would make sense, though," he said as he tossed in a large and well marbled T-bone steak. He waited as I searched through the stack for the best apple to throw in the fire. I prayed that my mother found it tasty and thanked her for finally giving me the chance to come here. I also prayed that she give me guidance with whatever was to come and that she watch out for Dad and me.

Nico walked me back to my table and promised to walk me to my cabin when supper was over even though I told him Percy and Annabeth were already going to do that. He just shrugged and walked back to his table. I didn't know why, but I was really happy that he wouldn't take "No" for an answer. I found some other foods waiting for me when I sat back down and everything was amazing.

When I finished eating, I packed up the remaining apples and turned towards Nico. He had already finished and was watching me to see when I would be done. He got up and quickly joined me.

"While I was waiting, I told Percy and Annabeth that I would show you to your cabin. They wanted to tell you that if you needed help decorating, let them know. Also, we have Capture the Flag in an hour and a half. You are going to be on our team if you want. Percy and Annabeth are team captains for us and they pick which cabins the team is allies with and since you are the only member of your cabin, it makes the choice easy. What do you say?" Nico asked expectantly.

"Since the only campers I know are you three, the answer is a big fat yes," I replied.

"Awesome! Now let's see that cabin of yours," he said as he led me out of the Big House. I had no clue what was being planned for the game, but I knew it was going to rock.


	8. Chapter 8

Cabin 13, Shocking

Nico told me about how he first came to Camp with his older sister and all the events that led him away from here and back again. He pointed out important locations like the campfire pit, the obstacle course, the great forest where the satyrs and naiads hung out, and finally the cabins. He explained that with all of the minor gods and goddesses claiming kids along with the Great Twelve, the cabin area had expanded quite a bit. He told me which one was which like he pointed out Athena's and how it was covered with symbols of knowledge and owls. Mine was the closest to the original twelve.

"Why isn't yours closer? You were here way before I was," I wondered.

"My cabin was the first one built of the new additions, but they made it cabin 14 since there was an off chance your mother may have had a child. The number 13 was reserved for her," he said kind of embarrassed. Ah, 13 being bad luck. Why was I not surprised?

I saw my cabin covered by apples and the sad theatre masks (you know when you see the happy and sad masks above the stage? Yeeeeaaaah! That one). When I entered, I found a bed, dresser, desk, and night stand. Nico told me he had to go help Annabeth with something and he would come by to take me to our team meeting spot later. I thanked him and got going on unpacking.

I never took long unpacking stuff. Dad and I moved around a lot when I was younger due to accidents I wanted to get away from. They never believed me when I told them that a lady with bat wings caused the swing set to break. Then there were the accidents a really did cause. Dad just wanted me to stop crying myself to sleep. He would have moved a million times if it meant that I wouldn't be sad anymore. I stopped him when I hit high school. We were in the town where he met Mom and I liked it, even if I didn't like the people.

After my stuff was ready, I checked my clock to find I had over an hour to relax. I lay on my bed and thought back on the day. I couldn't believe that several hours ago none of this existed to me. Now? I had friends, knew my Mom's history, gave my life purpose, and had no clue where it would all take me. I just knew that my life would never be the same and neither would I.


	9. Chapter 9

So this is what it's like to be a squirrel

I awoke to the sound of pounding on my door.

"Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaddd, why can't you come back in five minutes? I'm still dreaming an awesome dream. School can wait," I moaned. The dream had seemed so real. I remembered it with perfect clarity and … ugh, it just didn't matter. I opened my eyes to find that this wasn't my room. What the heck?

"Lissa! We are going to start Capture the Flag in 20 minutes! Percy wants you there early!" a voice said from outside the door.

"Nico?" I asked. The dream was turning out not really to be a dream.

"Yeah?" he said. Yep, wasn't dreaming.

"Just making sure! I'll…uh…be out in a few!" I responded quickly. I threw on some fresh clothes and headed out the door in record time.

"Nice outfit," Nico said blushing. I looked down at it and realized I was a bit over dressed.

"Is it too much? I can change really fast!" I said.

"That might be an idea. I just don't want your nice clothes ruined," he said with a hint of disappointment, though I didn't notice it because I was too busy running back in to change. I grabbed a generic t-shirt and some old jeans and made the change.

The walk to the meeting site wasn't long, but it felt like eternity since Nico didn't say much. I had no clue what had changed in the last hour, but I felt awkward trying to start a conversation only to have no response. All Nico would do was nod and avoid eye contact. I felt dejected for some reason.

When our other teammates saw us arriving, I noticed all of them started whispering. All except my new buds. I caught "bad luck," "why her?" and "were they thinking?" among other things. Percy gave me an apologetic look and turned to them.

"HEY! As team captains, Annabeth and I can pick which cabins we want alliances with. If you don't like this pick, join Clarisse right now. I won't have people judging a new friend," Percy said as he put his arm around me. Annabeth went to the other side and did the same.

"Percy's right. We like Lissa. We know she can do amazing stuff and most of all we know that she will stand by us and help us win. The question is, will you stand by her? Think before you respond, but if the answer is no, then we'll remember that in the future," she said gravely. I actually had shivers!

"You all know what my fatal flaw is and if you don't want to be on the receiving end of my anger, then I think you know what your answer is," Nico said as he came up behind us. I looked at my three friends and felt tears well up.

"You guys don't have to do this. I'm sure I can just watch. I don't want to break up your team and well planned strategy," I said as a single tear slipped out.

"Then you'll play! You are a part of this team and our strategy. So if you don't want to mess those up, then you stand your ground," Percy replied.

"Thanks," I told him and he just nodded. The group of people didn't move to leave, so I guess they decided they would rather deal with me rather than my friends. I think that was a wise choice on their parts. Annabeth started breaking them up into their defense and searching parties. Then she turned to me.

"You are on flag guard duty. Nico is going to protect from the ground, but I'm going to have you climb the tall oak tree in that clearing and watch the paths for search parties. If you see one, nail them with pebbles you need to gather on the way. Aim for the face and uncovered skin since we will be in armor. Got it?" she asked.

"Yeah, except I have no clue where the flag is hidden," I replied.

"Nico knows. He helped me hide it. Oh! Almost forgot! Here is your new rubber band. Chiron is going to get more for you, but he knew you just needed the one to get by," she said as she handed over a brand new rubber band. I could just barely stretch it. Excellent!

We heard a horn go off and Annabeth told me that meant battle stations. I ran after Nico as he headed into the forest. He went really fast! I stopped to pick up a bunch of sturdy stones for my sling shot and when I looked up, he was gone. Uh-oh! I had no clue where to go and my guide had run off without me. I started to freak out. I closed my eyes and went into my happy place like I always did when life started to get too stressful.

Suddenly, I felt something warm grab my hand. I opened my eyes and Nico was dragging me by the hand. He saw my eyes open and he smiled his devilish smile. His eyes turned to my hand and he suddenly let it go like it was on fire. A deep blush passed over his face. Why was he so easy to talk to earlier?

We reached our location as we heard a distant horn. The game was starting and I wasn't ready! I tried to grab the lowest branch of the tree, but it was just out of reach.

"Umm… Could you give me a boost?" I asked Nico.

"Uh… sure," he said. He made a foothold out of his cupped hands and gave me just the lift I needed. The branches were closer once passed the bottom. I stopped my climb once I found I could see the only two paths to this clearing. Then started to the waiting game.


	10. Chapter 10

Time is pointless in a forest

_OMGs! I have reached chapter 10! Thanks to all my dedicated readers and reviewers. I appreciate it all and you all rock!_

I have no clue to this day how long we were out in that clearing. Reflecting back, I feel time flowed differently just for the two guards on duty. I sat quietly for a while, but I started feeling awkward just staring at paths when a perfectly normal half-blood (yes it's an oxymoron, but get over it!) was standing below me. I finally removed my attention from the paths and looked down at Nico. I haven't fully investigated that clearing, but something about it just made Nico look awesome. The light hit his black as sin hair and it glistened to catch small fleck of dark auburn. His eyes were staying focused on the task, but his slight frown told me he would rather be doing something better. He leaned on the tree in a slight slouch that was so Devil-may-care. It wasn't a bad view.

Suddenly, he became alert. He looked around and finally turned in my direction. Opps! He caught me staring! He smiled as I turned away fast and returned to keeping watch. Nothing had changed. I kept vigilant until I got that creepy feeling of being watched. I double checked my paths. Nothing was there and I could see for at least half a mile down with the thinner branches. So why did I get that feeling. I glanced down at Nico to see if he was getting the vibe. Instead, I found him looking up with a weird smile on it. It was his turn to look away fast.

"Umm… what kind of stuff can you do?" I asked, trying to fill the void.

"Oh, you mean like Dad? Umm… I can summon some dead people with my sword. I can talk to ghosts. Oh and I just got this down," he said as he held out his hand. A flame as black as his hair was dancing on his palm. He threw the flame towards the flag and drew a circle in the air horizontally. The black fire wrapped itself around the base of the flag. He smiled the wicked smile again. I think that smile was growing on me.

"That was awesome! Are you going to keep it there?" I asked. I pulled out an apple and stared at it.

"I think I should on the very slim chance we let in the other team. I am the only one besides Dad that can't be burned by it. Oh! Percy is safe, too," he amended.

"Hungry?" I asked. I tossed down my little creation.

"Sure, but I don't think I could eat this. I have never seen a flag shaped apple before," he said sounding impressed. I felt my cheeks burn. I covered it up by glancing down the paths again.

"Uh-oh! We've got company!" I whispered down as I readied my sling shot. Things were getting interesting.


	11. Chapter 11

You can't fight what you can't see

I took aim and fired. The helmets were the same style as the Ancient Greeks wore. This meant I would have to aim for the cheek bones. I nailed them easily. There were only three people to hit and they all shouted in pain. I had at least bruised the bone if nothing else. Mom would be so proud.

"They ran off," I told Nico, but he was busy talking to someone. She wore Colonial clothes, so I guessed she was a ghost. She floated off and he turned up to me.

"Ms. Ross is passing on your message to Percy and he will have her tell our back up troops what to do next. We should have archers and hand-to-hand fighters there in less than five minutes. It will take at least that long to get the full search team," he said with a smirk.

"Wow! You guys have this down to a science!" I exclaimed.

"So do they," he said mysteriously. We waited. I saw our troops in camouflage get in trees, bushes, and other handy brush. I smiled to myself. Once in place, I could just barely see them which meant that those on the path would have no clue.

The other team showed up in full force. They started poking into everything! They stabbed trees, slashed bushes, and more. I felt myself gasp in fear for my teammates. None of them responded to the onslaught of their hiding places. Nico looked grim. I tried to read his emotions from his face, but gained nothing. He was as still as the dead. I was shaking like crazy for everyone, though.

Out of nowhere, our team attacked. The archers started firing arrow after arrow. Then the hand-to-hand combatants jumped in. The other team didn't seem too surprised, though. I guessed it was just common battle procedure. Instead, it was pure instinct. Instinct for the enemy. Instinct for danger. Instinct for blood lust. Instinct that I was severally lacking.

The fight raged on for what seemed like seconds, but really had to be at least a half-hour. Then the fight stopped at the sound of the horn. Nico's smile returned.

"They got it. We won," he stated as if he were just discussing tomorrow's weather forecast. I was cheering like crazy! I had never been on a winning team before! It was nice to not be blamed for a loss. The fighters helped each other up and checked wounds for levels of severity. They complimented each other and gave tips for next time. It was as if nothing had happened.

"They are only opponents during the game. Afterwards, we are family once again. When we fight in the real world, this is how it has to be. Fighting has to be first. Once the fight is over, we can make amends. It is a twisted kind of living, but we are twisted kinds of people," Nico said as he offered his hand to help me down. His smile had a bitter curve. He was thinking about something and I knew better than to ask what it was. I just gave him a hug. I hated the bitter curve. It broke my heart. I knew all too well the heartache it always hid behind it. I didn't want to see any of my new friends wearing it. I had to hurt too much wearing it myself. I wouldn't force that suffering on them. I would bear the pain.

I was suddenly filled with anger, loneliness, fear, and abandonment. I felt tears stream down my cheeks. I didn't know the source of these sudden mood swings, but I had an idea. I looked up at Nico's face and it was one of shock. He turned down to me. He tried to speak, but I gently touched his opening mouth.

"I'll take it. I have had to carry it all my life. I can take yours. I'm used to the heavy load. Just give it to me so I can see you smile again," I told him. He wrapped me closer to him. Sadness, nothingness, loss of sanity, even suicidal thoughts engulfed me. I felt myself shake uncontrollably. He held me tighter. I felt him shake as well. He was reliving the hardest parts of his life. I took the pain, he took the reminders. We fought his inner demons together.

I couldn't stop the tears from falling now. He had suppressed so many of them; I just couldn't keep them in. I could feel every eye in Camp on me, but I was too engulfed in my task to care that I was crying like a baby in front of them. I felt a hand run down my head, trying to comfort me through the emotional tumult. I didn't help. Nothing would. I had willingly accepted the pain and I would suffer for the choice. Depression, confusion, hatred, agony. They flashed long enough to force me to adapt to them and then leave me to just keep releasing them through my tears. Some part of me begged me to stop, get out of the cycle while I still could. The rest of me refused to stop before the task was finished. I knew it was important to finish what I had started.

All at once, the emotional kaleidoscope stopped. The tears continued, but they were behind on emotions. I knew they would stop soon. I turned again to see Nico's face. He was staring at me, waiting for some sort of reaction. I just shrugged my shoulders.

"I'm sorry you had to go throw that," he said. He was going to say more, but I put my finger to his lips. It sent tingles up and down my spine, but I ignored them.

"I am sorry you had to live a life where you were forced to experience them. You kept them all pent up and that makes me sad. If you will feel the catharsis, then I'm happy to be the means of releasing them. If you feel that you are responsible and have to make amends, then your punishment is to show me that smile of yours. That is what I want," I said. He obliged, flashing his signature wicked smile. I responded in kind, laughing through my tears.

I then realized we had been hugging for a very long time. I let go real fast! He started to blush, and I felt my cheeks grow hot, too. I turned to everyone else. They wore faces that said they didn't quite understand what happened, but whatever it was, it was deep.

"What are you all staring at? Haven't you ever seen someone physically express another's pent up emotions? All right, nothing to see here. Move along! Go party, or something…" I said. The crowd dispersed, but I knew something huge was going to happen and I would be involved. I just knew.


	12. Chapter 12

I never knew Oracles could visit infirmaries

It kind of figured that I would pass out not three seconds after my huge revelation. I guess I had overwhelmed my brain to the point of fainting. There went my image of being strong!

I woke up to the sound of people literally talking over. I have found it necessary to learn how to eavesdrop if I was ever going to learn how to act like a normal social being in the future. If people weren't going to talk to me directly, then I would have to listen to them talk to each other. I figured out it was Annabeth talking when I came to.

"…feel like?" I caught her asking.

"I felt like I had been carrying around mildly heavy boxes. It wasn't bad enough to be overbearing, but it was enough to notice when it was gone. I felt lighter, but then I felt guilty making her take it over. I knew she probably wouldn't be able to handle the weight of the emotions, but she refused to back down. The smile she gave me through her tears…. It just broke my heart. Even if she had to have physical contact to do it, I couldn't break contact. She looked to happy to take the pain and nothing I could have done would have stopped the tears. The only way to make the experience better for her was to finish it off. I feel like such a jerk!" Nico gripped to my friend.

"Don't you dare say a thing like that to her when she wakes up!" I heard Percy say.

"She wanted you to be happy. So when she does wake up, smile and thank her for doing it," Annabeth told Nico.

Nico got frustrated. "She shouldn't have had to do it! I should have been man enough to face my own emotions! I am so-"

"What did Annabeth just get done telling you?" I asked, interrupting.

"Smile and thank you?" he asked.

"You should probably listen to her. I hear she is pretty smart," I gave him a weak smile. He made a fist, but plastered on a smile for me.

"Thanks," he said before he turned away. I grabbed the balled fist and pulled it onto the bed. I felt the anger and pain he was experiencing. I took it. He pulled his hand away fast before I could finish.

"You're trying to do it again! Why do you even think you are here?" he asked gesturing around. I was just realizing I was in something that resembled a much larger version of my school's nurse's office. If I did pass out, I guess they would have had to take me somewhere. Huh!

"Yeah! Huh!" he said angrily. I guess I had said the last part out loud. "You lost consciousness because you thought I needed your help! Well I don't!" he exclaimed. He got up and left. After crying so much for him, I suddenly felt tears falling over him.

"Lissa, don't take what Nico is saying personally right now! He is just sad that he finally faced his emotions without really doing so. He feels kind of responsible for you," Annabeth tried to explain, but Percy put his hand on hers. He shook his head.

"Lissa, you get better, 'k? I have a friend coming here in a bit. Annabeth, can you watch her by yourself?" he asked.

"Sure. No problem. It will be nice to have some girl time," she said with a crooked smile. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and he replied in kind. He ran out the door.

"Percy will set him straight. So don't worry!" she said to comfort me. For some stupid reason, it didn't work. I had just wanted to help. I never get the chance to help and this was my first attempt, but unfortunately I even managed to botch helping someone. No not just anyone, but I botched helping a friend, a best friend! Urg!

While I was kicking myself when I was down, a girl entered the infirmary. She was pretty with curly red locks and shiny green eyes. She was wearing Ancient Greek style clothes. I gave Annabeth a confused look. She smiled to me and hugged the girl.

"Lissa, I would like you to meet Rachel. Rachel, this is Lissa, daughter of Eris," Annabeth said introducing us. We shook hands.

"Pleasure to meet you," Rachel said.

"Same here. Umm… which cabin are you?" I asked. No one at dinner looked anything like her.

"I have two mortal parents. I just happen to be the latest Oracle of Delphi," she replied.

"Ah! That explains the outfit!" I exclaimed.

"This is my work uniform. Thankfully, Apollo lets me wear normal clothes to school. Speaking of work, I think I feel another one coming!" she just barely managed to spit out as green smoke began to pour from her mouth. Her eyes rolled up and her voice changed. She said

_Child of Eris shall make the Seven complete_

_The evil looming still left to defeat_

_Eris's shall gather the chosen ones to decide the fate_

_Of the one who still carries hate_

_The chosen must travel soon_

_The fight must start before the end of June_

_If the chosen are to late_

_Death to all is the path made by Fate_

The smoke cleared and Rachel returned to normal.

"So sorry about that! I can't control when He wants to pass on messages. What? Is there something wrong?" she asked as I sat shaking. _It_ was starting.


	13. Chapter 13

I redefine sibling rivalry

_Talk about ironic! This is chapter 13 and it is _very_ unlucky. Insert evil chuckling here!_

I am able to leave the infirmary the next night. Annabeth told me I probably could have been dismissed sooner, but Chiron wanted to make sure that I got plenty of rest and ate some ambrosia to help get my emotional batteries recharged. I kind of wish I could eat that stuff more often because it tasted like the best apple crisp ever! Yum!

Nico never did visit me again. Percy came the next day with an angry look on his face. He was sorry to tell me that Nico was too busy "wallowing in self-pity" to come back. He tried to convince me that I wasn't the cause of it, but we all knew he was lying through his teeth. It hurt to realize that I did all of it for nothing because he was more upset now than he was before I helped him. I put on a brave face for my friends, but when I asked them to give me some privacy because I was going to "take a short nap," I cried. I was supposed to help Nico, not make it worse.

I think they knew I was faking because they came back in right after I finished. To avoid upsetting more, we talked about the prophecy Rachel made and what it might mean instead of you-know-who.

"The first part refers to another prophecy. I will fill you in on it later. The second part means you will have to choose those who will go on the quest. The third and forth parts refer to a time limit. I guess we have to find whoever the two prophecies talk about before June 30th, which doesn't give us much time since June starts tomorrow," Annabeth explained as I was grabbing my belongings to take with me back to my cabin.

"I understand. I'll start to look for people tomorrow. I guess I need to find four others," I thought out loud.

"You need six," Percy corrected, confused.

"No, four. You two are definitely coming with me. I need at least two people I feel completely comfortable with going or I'll just feel awkward and out of place. Besides, I'm not leaving my best friends behind," I told them. Annabeth gave me a hug.

"I can't speak for Percy, but I will accept your invitation on my part," she said.

"I'm coming, too. I have been a little bored since I was back here. Besides, this one is too hot to let go on an adventure where some guy might steal her from me," Percy said with a chuckle as he put his arm around her.

We didn't talk much the rest of the way back to my cabin. It was late and we all needed sleep, so the two lovebirds didn't hang around. I found a note attached to my door. It read

Lissa,

I need to talk to you about what happened a few days ago.

Meet me in the practice arena at 1 AM.

Come alone.

I had no clue who wrote it, but from what Annabeth taught me while I was cooped up, it was written in Ancient Greek. I found it weird that I could read it much easier than my own native language. Oh well! I grabbed my alarm clock and set the alarm for 12:30 so I could get to the arena on time. After setting out my clothes, I fell asleep.

I dreamed of a really pretty woman gathering apples. These apples weren't any of the kinds I had ever had, though. They were pure Gold. She looked at me and smiled. Then, the orchard caught fire. The trees were burning and fast. I tried to grab the lady's hand, but she was out of reach. She ran toward me and fell. I reached her side and helped her up. I led her away from the flames, but we left her bushel behind. She ran to grab it, but the rapid flames beat her to them. It took everything I had to keep her from running into the fire to get the lost fruits. She looked up at me with tears in her eyes.

"Stop the flames. Stop them before this happens. You have the power," she whispered. I was confused because she said "before this happens." I looked back of the fire tormented orchard, only to find it in pristine condition. I looked back at her and did a double take. Her raven colored curly hair matched mine exactly. She had a dimple in the middle of her right cheek like me. If she were standing, she probably would have been only slightly taller than me. I realized right then I was holding my mother.

The alarm woke me up before I could ask her any questions. I hurried to change because I didn't want to keep whoever waiting. I felt nervous since I didn't know who I would find, but I had a good idea. I really hoped it would be him to say he realized I did a good thing. I caught myself smiling thinking about it. I rushed out my door to get to the practice field as fast as possible.

I ended up there a little early. I was alone, but that was understandable since my mystery guest still had five minutes. I played around with the equipment to kill time.

"Having fun?" a voice whispered in my ear. I jumped about forty feet in surprise. The voice chuckled darkly.

"I didn't think anyone in our family was capable of being caught off guard. It's…refreshing," a man in all black said with a wolfish grin. He had such cold eyes they made me shiver looking in them. He smiled and a dimple formed in his right cheek, just like the one that I had just seen on my mother. He stepped into the light and I could longer wavy black hair.

"I'm not who you were expecting, was I, dear Sister?" he asked.

"Sister?" I asked, confused. I remember Percy saying I was the only half-blood child of Eris. That meant if this guy was my brother, he was a god.

"Aw! Aren't you excited to have a big brother? I was _thrilled_ to hear about my baby sister," he told me, though the sarcastic tone told me more. "Mom just could wait to tell me about this sweet mortal who just treated her so nice. She was so freaking happy to have him! I tried to be supportive, but when she told me she was having his kid, I got a bit ticked off. What was she going to do when this kid finally reared its ugly head? Take care of it while I filled in? I already was doing that enough for her when she went off to her dates with this guy. Was she going to expect me to give a care? I had to nip this thing in the bud. I told her that she had better give the baby to its dad and never get involved with them or anyone else again. I told her I knew how fickle you mortals were. I said her boyfriend would be cute now, but would find some other chick sooner rather than later. I told her the baby would just resent her for being her kid. I mean who would want to be the kid of the goddess of pain and suffering? That sobered her up quick. She finally remembered that she had a job to do. You couldn't stay down though, could you? Mom had to claim you just because Lord Zeus and the others made a promise that everybody would. That would have been fine except you had to figure out the one thing we can do that would mess up everything. You had to figure out the emotion vacuum. I work hard for years to get that guy where he was and you ruined that hard work in a half-hour! Who the Hades do you think you are? Some saint who can stop pain and strife? Or someone who thinks the world will be a better place without it? Mom wouldn't come here to tell you all this, but I felt I had to or make the last 18 years pointless. Don't you dare think Mom owes you anything, and don't you ever use that vacuum again or face the wrath of Strife. That's the name, little sis, Strife. Learn it, remember it, fear it. I don't need you tearing down everything I have worked hard to build," Strife sneered.

I had never been so scared in my entire life. This guy had just threatened me and I knew that if no one else on Olympus could back up their threats, he could. His eyes were staring me down to the point that I could move. I wanted to scream for help, but I was too far from the cabins for anyone to hear me. I felt so stupid for not telling anyone about this, but that was just my luck.

"Takes a real tough guy to threaten his younger sister alone in the middle of the night," a familiar voice said from behind the storage shed. "I thought the great Strife wouldn't need to stoop so low as to use night as a cover. Thought you were more daring than this," Nico said as he reached my side.

"Says the guy who needed her to fight his emotional battles for him. You're awfully brave to try to confront a god," Strife rallied back.

"Never said I was confronting you. I just came to check on a friend who should get a quieter alarm if she is going to sneak out at night. That's all," he said sweetly to my older brother.

"Right, a 'friend.' If you think of her as just a 'friend,' then I am a wood nymph. Don't worry though, because she is clueless about that sort of thing. I've got some late night nightmares to cause, so I think I'll head out. Pleasant nightmares, you two!" Strife said as he turned and disappeared. Nico glared with distaste at the now empty spot. He turned to me.

"Are you stupid? Or are you just the type of person who really wants to die? I just need to know why I have to keep saving you from yourself," he asked furious.

"Neither. I thought I was meeting you here. The note said someone wanted to talk about the other night alone, and I thought you might have changed your mind about it. I guess should take back my neither and say stupid," I whispered, ashamed at how close I got Nico and/or myself in serious danger. I felt the tears welling up. Was I going to have to cry in front of him from now on?

"You're not stupid. I have thought about it and was going to apologize tomorrow, but I guess you couldn't wait. I'm sorry I got mad at you. You were just trying to help, and I felt weak because I couldn't face my problems and you could," he sighed as he uncomfortably patted my back.

"Takes a real guy to admit he was wrong and that he needs help to a girl. I forgive you if you forgive me for waking you up and putting you in danger," I replied.

"Deal. For the record, I really don't like your brother," he said as we started to head back to our cabins.

"Neither do I," I agreed.


	14. Chapter 14

Picking teams is hard

Nico was waiting for me when I walked out my cabin door. He was leaning on my wall in a slacker manner. I gave him a raised eyebrow.

"I wanted to make sure your dear brother didn't try to bother you again," he mumbled. I looked at him and realized he never left from walking me back earlier that morning.

"You kept guard all night?!?" I exclaimed

"Why does it matter? If I want to keep you safe instead of sleep, that is kind of my problem. Anyways, I saw the Happy Couple a little while ago headed for the Big House. I went ahead and gave them the 411," he said.

"Happy Couple?" I asked.

"Percy and Annabeth. I call them that when they are acting too cutesy," he replied.

"So all the time," I joked.

"Pretty much. They told me to tell you that you were stupid in their opinion, too. Also, they wanted to know when you were going to get the 'group' together? I didn't understand that part, but they said you would." He gave me a confused look.

"Oh! I almost forgot! Do you want to be one of the Seven?" I asked, remembering my task.

"Seven what? Half-Bloods?" he asked expectantly.

"Yeah, the Oracle told me I had to get them together and fight whoever this bad person is. The 'Happy Couple' are already in, so I need to find four more people I feel would be good to have on this trip. So, want to make it three?" I asked, really wanting him to say yes.

"Sure! I totally want to-I mean, I guess since someone has to come along to keep you safe from yourself," he said, trying to act cool, but I could tell that he was psyched to go. For some reason, that fact that he really wanted to go made me happier than the fact he actually was going.

"Yes! Now I only need three more people. I have no clue who to ask, but I'll figure it out!" I said excitedly. I knew that the quest would go well if I had my three best friends along.

The problem was someone leaked out that I would be making the team for the quest. The first clue was the fact that almost everyone wanted to be my new best friend when I arrived for breakfast at the Big House. They waved hi, told me I looked great (I had just rolled out of bed!), and to come to them if I needed anything. I felt a majority of them were being disingenuous, if not all of them. I just pasted on my fake smile, the one I always wore when people at school pretended to be nice in order to gain dirt for a new rumor or something. They seemed to buy it, but my friends didn't.

"What's wrong?" Annabeth asked right after breakfast.

"Nothing! Why do you ask?" I responded.

"For someone who likes seeing the 'real smile' on others, I don't see it too often on you," Nico retaliated as he sauntered up next to me.

"I know for sure that smile you gave them wasn't real," Percy added.

"Ok, fine! I just found it really interesting that so many people want to be my pal now that they get the chance to go on a quest. I've seen it enough times to understand that they will go back to giving me a wide birth the second that they leave camp," I said shrugging.

"I know they will. That's why I made a note of people who weren't acting to get you to like them. These people were asking Percy and me about you while you were in the infirmary. They wanted you to know that they were wrong for not trusting you originally and had a change of heart after what they saw you do for Nico," Annabeth said as she handed me a list. It had over twenty names on it! I looked at her and she nodded at my amazement. I read each name carefully and three of them seemed to resonate with me.

"Can you find me Brian, Julia, and Nicole?" I asked her.

"If those are the people you think are right," she said as she grabbed Percy's hand and pulled him away. He gave me a knowing grin as he allowed himself to be dragged off. I then realized I was alone with Nico. My heart started to pound in my ears and my palms got sweaty (gross!) as soon as I made the connection. Percy and Annabeth thought we might like each other! I knew otherwise, of course. I mean, sure Nico was super hot in that bad boy way. Sure he had saved me from my super scary brother. Sure I thought about his smile a little too often, along with the rest of him, but that didn't mean I liked him! Did it? I thought about the romantic movies I was able to sit through. Uh-oh….

"Lissa? You ok? You're awfully quiet," Nico said. I turned my head and remembered he was still here. Fantastic!

"Umm…sure! I am great! I…uh…have to grab some stuff from a thing and…yeah," I said as I zoomed towards my cabin. My mother must have got a kick out of this because as I was running, I tripped on an apple that I must have dropped at some point. I fell and that gave Nico just enough time to catch up to me. He probably would have been here sooner if I hadn't caught him off guard. Darn my luck!

"You ok?" he asked again.

"Fine! I just need to find a better place to store these," I said as I showed him my now bruised apple. He helped me up and electric current ran up and down my spine as he grabbed my hand. Yep. I had to have it bad! "Like I said, I have to get some stuff. So, I'll see you later!" I said as I tried to make my exit once again. This time it didn't work, though, because he wouldn't let go of my hand. I turned back to him and he was staring at me intensely. I felt my cheeks flare up. He closed the gap between us. He looked in to my eyes with his dark gaze.

"Tell me what's wrong," he whispered.

"If only I could," I said as I broke the contact and ran back to my cabin. This time he was ready. He grabbed my hand and pulled me back to him.

"I'm not letting you leave here until you tell me," he said firmly. He stared into me with those eyes. I just knew they would find out before I was ready, so I acted before they could.

"I met someone. Someone who just makes me feel like I can do anything as long as he's there. He just makes me so happy to be with him," I said.

"Really?" he said, not quite believing me.

"Yep. He is awesome. I just miss him like crazy, though," I said, lying through my teeth.

"Oh! Is it serious?" he asked and for a second, I could have sworn that he looked hurt.

"For me, yeah, but he doesn't know how I feel, so it's kind of one sided. That's ok, though because I can know that I will be there for him no matter what. As long as he's happy, I am," I said.

"Great! I guess that I need to start getting ready for that quest, so I'm going to go," he said. I waited until I was sure he was gone before I broke down. I had to tell him how I felt, but some part of me said that he would just reject me like all the other guys did when I told them I liked them. I had been hurt enough times to know what it felt like. If I was going to get him to go on the quest, I was going to have to keep my feelings to myself. I remembered all the others never spoke to me again and avoided me at all costs. I lived that way for too long to break the habit now. I was too good at it.

I wiped my tears as I saw Percy and Annabeth walking up with the three people I noticed on my first day there.

"Here they are! This is Brian, son of Erebus, god of darkness, Julia, daughter of Urania, Muse of astronomy, and Nicole, daughter of Nike, goddess of winning," Annabeth said as she pointed to the guy who was the personification of shadow, the girl carrying a bunch of star maps, and the girl who flashed her winning smile. I knew we had our team.


	15. Chapter 15

I find out vampires are real

_I am so sorry that this has taken so long to get up! I have been crazy busy and I have been having a bit of writer's block. Thanks for being patient!_

After getting permission from both Chiron and Mr. D (who seemed to think my name was Lisa Ronald) to head out on the quest, we quickly gathered our stuff and headed out. Since Percy and Annabeth had been spending the most time out in the mortal world on their own, they had a large amount of drachmas and mortal cash. Once we reached NYC via hippocampi, they got us to all bus fare to Grand Central Station. I saw Nico sitting alone and started towards the seat, only to find him give me the scariest "Go die" glare ever. I am actually really glad that Hades or at least his kids can't kill you with looks, because if they could, I would be playing with Cerberus right now. Brr!

I instead sat next to Julia. She was a petite blond girl with blue eyes that sparkled like the stars. She was staring at the sky above as the sun was setting.

"They'll be out soon!" she whispered to herself. She unrolled a map that was covered with constellations I had never seen or heard of before, but she apparently had. They were all named and properly drawn to scale. I was amazed at how detailed each one was. The lines were perfect, the stars were each a certain size, and the names were written in such beautiful Greek!

"Mars," she said.

"Excuse me?" I asked, just barely capable of turning away from the map.

"That map is from the viewpoint of Mars," she explained slightly better.

"How can that be? Have you been on Mars? Can we exist there?" I asked a little too fast.

"No," she laughed, "we can't live on Mars. I haven't been, either. I just know any and all planet viewpoints. It is one of my abilities from Mom. Since she needs to see them all, I just know because she knows."

"Cool! Can you use the stars to navigate? Cause that could be useful!" I comment.

"Yeah, I can navigate by star even better than by any mortal map. I don't know how, but as long as it is night, I can direct myself anywhere," she said as she gave a contented sigh. I could tell she enjoyed her abilities. It must be nice to have abilities that you can be proud of. I looked out the window with her and stared at the beautiful stars. I sighed.

I turned to the seat across from ours. Brian and Nicole were chatting about random stuff. I looked at the bus door as it was closing. Two scary pretty girls were getting on. They sat in the seat in front of mine, the one right across from Nico. Nico seemed to like this very much. I felt the sudden urge to talk to Brian since he was on the aisle seat with me. The only problem was that he wasn't there anymore!

"Nicole, where did Brian go?" I asked his seat partner.

"Umm… I'm right here," the empty seat said. Suddenly, Brian showed up again leaning forward. "As long as I am not in direct sunlight, I can blend into anything," he said.

"That is totally awesome!" I exclaimed.

"That is what I think. Hey, do those girls seem to have really long teeth?" he asked Nicole.

"I don't know, maybe?" she replied. "Lissa?" she asked me. I glanced at the girl closest to me. Conveniently, she flashed a smile. Her canine teeth were way too long to be normal. I felt like one of those girls in the horror movies when they realized they went in the room everyone in the audience told them not to enter. I gave the smallest nod possible. Brian leaned back in his seat and disappeared. I heard him passing this information to Percy and Annabeth (they were sitting behind him). The blood drained from Percy's face. He stared at Annabeth as she pulled the Yankee's cap from her book bag. She placed it on her head and disappeared! I turned to Nicole since she had been watching, too.

"A gift from her mom," she explained. Oh! I heard Brian returning to his seat.

"We get off at the next stop. Pass it on!" he whispered. Nicole nodded and whispered to Nico over the seat. I told Julia. She got a frightened look on her face when I mentioned the long teeth.

"Empousas! They worship Lady Hecate, goddess of magic. They are really pretty, minus their one metal leg, but very dangerous. The only reason the myth of vampires exist is because of them," she whispered to me.

"Please tell me the whole blood drinking thing is part of the myth," I quietly begged. She shook her head sadly. Of course not.

The bus lurched to a stop and we ran quickly off. I realized that Nico was still on! I ran back on and grabbed his hand. I pulled him away from the blood sucking cyborgs. Unfortunately, said cyborgs noticed and followed us off. Our group ran.

We found an empty field and turned to our pursuers. I pulled out an apple and made my slingshot as fast as possible. I picked up a big stone and fired. I hit one of them in the mouth. Something shiny fell. I saw her angry snarl and noticed that one of the abnormally long teeth was now gone.

"Who knocked out my tooth? You will pay with your blood!" she exclaimed. I grabbed another stone and fired. I hit her in the nose and heard a crack.

"That would be me, sweetheart. Want proof?" I asked as I took aim again. She whorled her head at me and I saw a deep hatred in her eyes. She ran towards me. Unfortunately, Percy intercepted her and finished her off in a few strikes. Her companion turned to him and attacked, only to meet the same fate. The two evil monsters became dust leaving behind two identical necklaces. They were picked up by no one and carried to me. Annabeth took off her hat and handed them to me.

"Look at the symbol," she said gravely. I glanced down. They had the sigma on them. Somehow I knew that this meant my brother was behind this. I got angry. My "dear" brother would pay for endangering my friends.


	16. Chapter 16

Aww… my second weird dream!

_Again, sorry for taking so long! Check out my forum, please._

After collecting our stuff, we hailed a taxi. We had the driver take us to the closest motel. Thankfully there was one nearby that had rooms for 7. I roomed with Julia since Annabeth really wanted to room with Nicole. I thought it was slightly weird, that is until I asked Julia.

"Athena and Nike were and are an excellent team. They have fought many battles together. In fact, as long as Nike was there, Athena never lost. They are really close friends and allies. Ever since Nike's children could come to camp, those two cabins have been attached at the hip," she explained. Oh!

I slept horribly that night. I had a dream about my brother talking to a really pretty horse. He was whispering things into the stallion's ear, lies about someone. I had no clue how I knew they were lies, but I just knew they were. I wanted to get the horse away from him, but my voice didn't work.

Then I saw a man in a suit. He looked angry about something. He was muttering about how he should have thought things through better and would tread softly this time. He looked at a nearby candle and lit it with a flame from his thumb. In the new light, I saw him looking at a necklace. It was identical to the ones worn by the creepy sisters from the bus. The man spun it and chuckled darkly.

"Prometheus," a voice called to him, "the Earthshaker is taking the bait hook, line, and sinker. The plans are almost complete." My brother came from the shadows and looked at the suited man.

"Excellent! And your sister?" Prometheus asked.

"She shouldn't be a problem. I have her scared out of her mind," Strife chuckled.

"Then let the games begin," Prometheus said.

I woke up.


	17. Chapter 17

I meet my uncle through a shower

_Thanks to everyone who has reviewed! I really appreciate any and all feedback._

I hate waking up in the middle of the night. I can never go back to sleep and I usually wake up when I need the sleep the most. That night was no different as I glanced over to Julia's empty bed. Wait! Empty bed? I glanced at the clock and saw that at 2:34 am, no normal person should be up and going. Then I thought about who we were and gave up the thought that we were anywhere near normal. I sighed and got out of my cozy comforter into the cold of the air conditioned motel room. I aliped on my four-leaf clover slippers (yeah, they were for good luck, but I guess that point is moot now) and glanced around for my roommate in the dark. I heard paper rustling over by the window. I should have known.

I found her splitting her attention between the maps she held in her hands and the heavens above the maps depicted. She had a concerned look that didn't bode well with what had just happened in my dream.

"I see you are enjoying a good night's sleep as well," I attempted to joke.

"Mars is out of alignment and Neptune is off course. I just don't understand this! The planets only do this when the gods or goddesses they represent are in trouble. I mean except for Mars because it is only off when a fight is approaching. I just don't get it," she vented. "I have checked, double checked, triple checked, and quadruple checked these planets with my maps. My maps are flawless. I even checked _that_ at least 10 times with several stars and other heavenly bodies. The planets are wrong."

"Well, then I guess now would be a great time to talk about this dream I had," I began. I told her everything and even explained how my "charming" brother introduced himself the night before. Her facial expressions showed more and more fear as I talked which made me feel very uneasy.

"We are waking up the others right now! I'll get the girls and you get the guys. Tell them this is a code Alpha. They will know what that means," she said as she was running out the door. I hoped they would because I had no clue.

The boys' room was right next to ours and conveniently had an adjoining door which they thankfully left unlocked. I shook them like crazy to get them up and mentioned to each of them code Alpha. That got them up pretty fast. I told them about my dream and about Julia's planetary issues. They all had also had dreams with bad omens as well, but none as obvious as mine. Percy decided to start up the shower as Nico grabbed a flashlight. By the time we were ready to send the iris message, the rest of our team had joined us. Percy asked for Lady Iris's assistance and in no time we were looking at what appeared to be a home remodel in progress. A man in a Hawaiian shirt, Bermuda shorts, and a hard hat was barking orders to people and then turned to us. His eyes were the exact same stormy color as Percy's. I knew we were getting ready to talk to the one and only Poseidon.

"Dad? Dad! Can we talk for a second?" Percy asked.

"Percy? What are you doing? Why aren't you at Camp?" the Sea God asked his son.

"Long story, but not the point. Can you spare a few seconds?" Percy asked again.

"Sure! Hey, how do you feel about Tyson's room having a small personal forge? Do you think he would like that?" the Earthshaker pondered.

"I'm sure he would love it, but not the point. Have you been talking to Lord Strife lately?" Percy asked his father with a hint of irritation.

"Strife? Yeah, he offered to help me get some of the more lazy workers into shape so we can get my palace done sometime this millennium. Usually he isn't this helpful, but I won't look a gift horse in the mouth," Percy's father chuckled at some joke I didn't quite get, but Percy must have since he groaned as if it was really corny.

"Lord Poseidon, Annabeth here. Percy, five other demigods, and I are on a quest and one of the others, Lissa, daughter of Eris, had a very troubling dream where her brother was telling you lies and was talking about some plan with Prometheus. We would really appreciate it if you could tell us what you and Lord Strife have been talking about," Annabeth tried.

"You have Strife's sister with you? Now?" the Earthshaker looked…well…shaken. This could not be good. "Strife told me that that apple didn't fall far from the chaos causing tree. I would be less concerned about what I talk to people about and more concerned about what trouble that girl is trying to get some sort of sick kick out of." The Lord of the Sea's voice gave me a chill worse than any cold night on the ocean. I knew my brother had already gotten to him. It was only a matter of time before the others felt the same way. I thought I should go ahead and nip this pain in the bud.

"Lord Poseidon, I thank you for your time. I hope your palace is completed soon and wish you a pleasant night. As for you guys, you don't have to waste any more time with such a sick and twisted person as me. If he is going to believe Strife over me, then I might as well stop my quest here. Anyone we may ask for help from will only think I am up to something. You guys are better off without me," I said. I turned to walk back to my room and pack.

I stuffed my clothes in as quickly as I could. I knew if I stopped to think for a second, I wouldn't be able to continue. Unfortunately, an invisible hand stopped me from closing the suitcase lid. I grabbed my flashlight and ran it over the obstruction to see it was Brian's.

"Think you can get rid of us this easy? I know Nico would pout the entire trip back," he said.

"What? No… Nico would probably be thrilled to get rid of me. Hades knows he would rather be hanging out with two hot girls who wanted him dead than be within a twenty feet radius of me," I said through the tears.

"I was there last night. I have insomnia and like to take nightly strolls. I saw both of you talking. I saw both of you hurting. You like him and he likes you. You are afraid that you will hurt him someday and he is afraid that he will lose you in both the physical _and_ emotional way. The problem is that instead of stopping your problems by keeping away, you are actually causing them," he said in a voice as soft as the night breeze.

"You're right," I said.

"On top of that, if you leave, then we won't be able to stop your brother. This quest is for seven. We can't do it without you," he said.

"I guess you have me there, too," I said. "Thanks." I gave him a hug.

"You're welcome," he whispered in my ear.

"Lissa, I hate to break this to you, but I know Brian quite well," Nico exclaimed out of nowhere. I heard the door slam and knew he would never forgive me. The tears fell again.


	18. Chapter 18

Just call me Jenna Appleseed!

_Thanks again for all the reviews! Keep them up!_

As I was attempting to sleep again and failing, somehow I suddenly remembered my favorite childhood story. It was the one about Johnny Appleseed. I didn't know why, but I felt the strong need to travel to the Midwest like he did. I guess one may call it intuition or insanity. Either way, I told the others that I needed to go to Indiana. They went with the insanity theory.

"Umm… Lissa? Dad is in the middle of the ocean. If we are going to get your brother away from him, going inland is kind of the wrong idea," Percy said gently.

"Yeah, and personally I think you're a bit too focused on your feelings," said Nico sneered. That one hurt.

"I'll go with!" Brain offered, "I think if she says something like this, she _obviously_ has a good reason." Somehow, I think that was more steered toward Nico, but I took it.

"Thanks Brian, but we need to go together. I think we'll find a clue towards our missing fire Titan there. I know it's random, but you have to trust me. If we find nothing, I will never eat another apple as long as I live," I said as confidently as I could, though I was mentally kicking myself for saying it. If I gave up my apples, I wouldn't have to suffer long! It got their attention though.

"Woah! She is betting her apples on this. Let's go!" Annabeth said. So we did.


	19. Chapter 19

My nephew gives me farming lessons

_So sorry about the delay again! Thanks for all the reviews and keep them up._

We arrived in Indianapolis a few days later. My companions wanted to play tourist, so we split up. Brian agreed to go with me since Nico immediately jumped on the side of sightseeing. It hurt. Brian must have noticed because he joined me right after. Nico gave us a dirty look. I am so glad that even children of Hades can't kill with glares. Brian squeezed my shoulder in solidarity. Then he gave me a knowing wink.

"Annabeth, Percy? Don't you think Julia and Nico should come with us? Julia can see the stars better where we're going and something tells me we will need Nico soon," he said.

"Somehow I feel that is the way it is supposed to be," Annabeth agreed.

"If Annabeth thinks that is the best course of action then I am all for it," Percy said. "Nico, please go with them. You know you need to." Nico gave Brian an even scarier scowl than he gave me but walked over to our side along with Julia.

We found the orchard that was calling me. Thankfully no one was around. Nico looked like he was in a trance. He walked over to a large tree and dug a hole with a nearby trowel. He pulled out a concealed soda and poured it in the hole. He whispered and suddenly a ghost wearing overalls stood before us. Nico suddenly got out of his zombie state.

"What did you do to me?" he asked angrily.

"I just gave ya a nudge. You wouldn't have known who to call," the ghost said.

"Who are you?" I asked, though somehow I knew who he was.

"John Chapman or as most folks call me Johnny Appleseed. How are you auntie?" he asked.

"AUNTIE?" I exclaimed.

"Yep. Mom never told Dad she had a secret affair. I actually had no clue about who my real Dad was 'til after I died. My real Dad is your brother. That was why I liked apples so much. Dad thought I was a mistake and left me to whatever I wanted to do. I guess it could have been worse. He only showed up long enough to tell me not to bug him in the afterlife. He thinks I am huge disappointment, just like you," Johnny said with a wink.

"Ok, he gives Mom grief for having me and he goes and fathers you? Am I the only one who smells hypocrisy here?" I ask.

"For the record, I am your only nephew. I have no other half brothers or sisters. After realizing that his kids could turn out like me, he kept himself from mortal women. I couldn't care less about him. Mom's husband treated me as one of his own and I love him like he's my real Dad. I would have completely forgotten about that side of my family if you hadn't been born. I knew that Dad wouldn't leave you alone as long as you follow my path. I hoped you could hide from him like I did, but I guess that isn't going to happen. So I am going to give you something Grandma gave me. I didn't know it was her then, but I do now. Here," Johnny said as he gave me a sack. It was full of seeds.

"Apple seeds. You plant one and a full grown tree will sprout up instantly. I heard you can use as many as you can get," my nephew said with a smirk.

"Wow! Thanks! But won't mortals think it's strange that trees show up out of nowhere?" I asked him.

"The Mist will make them think that the tree has been there for years and years. I was worried about that the first time I planted one," Johnny explained. I borrowed the trowel Nico used and dug a small hole. I placed a seed in the hole. A golden delicious tree full of perfect apples popped out of nowhere.

"The tree will be whatever you want. I guess for you they will all be golden delicious," he said.

"Sweet! Thank you, Johnny. I feel like this should be backwards. Shouldn't the aunt be the one to spoil the nephew?" I joked.

"Hey! If you stop Dad, that will make up for it," he said with a smile.

"Know where we can find him or his fiery friend?" Brian asked.

"I don't know about Dad, but his 'friend' is in Montana somewhere. He is hiding out where there aren't so many people. It was either Alaska or Montana. Hard choice there," he said solemnly. His form started to flicker. "I have to go. Don't let Dad intimidate you," he said. I hugged him. It was so cold.

"Thanks for calling me here. See you again?" I asked.

"Eventually, yeah. Bye Aunt Lissa," he said as he faded into nothingness.

"I guess we're off to Montana," I said.


	20. Chapter 20

Who knew apples were great for math?

_I have been fighting writer's block horribly. I think I know where the story is headed for now and will set a goal of one chapter a week until at the earliest September. I thank everyone for their patience and enjoy!_

It was heartbreaking leaving the vast and beautiful orchard. I rested on the sturdy trunk of my new tree and strained to not imagine how easy my life could have been if I stayed there. I knew monsters wouldn't leave me alone in the regular world, but nothing could stop me in a place like that. I heaved a sigh as I climbed to the top of the wooden safe haven to gather the last of my sweet weapons. I understood completely why Johnny spent his entire life creating places like this. I vowed to continue his work whenever I could if I beat his father, the key word being "if."

"Hey Spider Monkey! Some of us groundlings would like to get out of here before they visit Dad for the last time!" Nico barked at me, derailing my train of thought. I glanced down and met his glare.

"Afraid of heights, Angleo?" I joked.

"Like I would be allowed up that high? The sky belongs to… well you know! He doesn't like my side of the family up in his territory," he snarled, but not before I saw his eyes flash with fear. Something told me he wasn't going to be joining me in my climb anytime soon.

I descended quickly. I gave the tree a final pat on the trunk farewell. I swore for a second it felt distressed by my leaving. I rubbed the bark and I once again thought I felt its emotions as it calmed down. I lifted my hand and slung my apple pack and seeds on my shoulder. I scanned for the other pair of our group. Brian was napping in the shade of a large Gala tree a few rows over. I had almost missed him had the sun not burst through the clouds to shine in between the leaves. Julia was staring at the sky and whispering madly to herself about a planet in the solar system surrounding Orion's belt. I motioned for Nico to wake up Brian while I went after Julia.

"If only I hadn't left my wide angle compass in my cabin! 994623 will never be plotted right with this sloppy workmanship!" Julia exclaimed, reprimanding herself.

"Julia, we need to get going," I barely whispered. I hated seeing people beat their selves up over the unchangeable. She nodded absentmindedly and gathered her charting equipment. I grabbed an apple with a sharper stem out of my bag and visualized a wider than usual compass. I handed it to her and grinned as she glowed at it.

"You'll have to provide the pencil, but I hope it helps!" I stated. Then she shocked me as she wrapped me in the world's biggest bear hug.

"Thank you! This is exactly what I needed!" she exclaimed.

"I know. I was standing right here."

"Right! Well anyways, thanks so much!"

"No problem. Let's head back!" Julia linked arms with me and started to do something similar to the Wizard of Oz skip. Brian linked with me on the other side and copied Julia's footwork. Nico just sulked behind us.

"To Oz?" Brian joked.

"To OZ!" I joked back.

_Really cheesy ending there but my friends and I are huge WoO fans and I thought it would be a fun way to end the chapter. I shall see you all again next week, so stay posted!_


	21. Chapter 21

It's not a black eye. It's a GOLD one.

_As promised! I am still tweaking and revising the next one, so it might be up later next week. On top of that, I start COLLEGE next week! YEY! I will keep adding chapters weekly, but if they are a tad late, forgive me! Thanks for all the reviews and story follows. I enjoy reading the reviews so keep them up. Enjoy!_

We met at the rendezvous point a little late. Nico, of course, willingly laid the blame at my feet. Brian rolled his eyes over the complaints about my long discussion with Johnny and taking a large chunk of time picking apples. The others seemed ok with waiting, so the point was moot.

We planned to haul a cab over to a cheap bus station Nicole had found. She remembered seeing a bus for Montana was leaving at 7 AM the following morning. On the off chance we would have to camp out, Annabeth had packed a tent and sleeping bags. We were going to sleep outside the station since a big convention had all the hotels booked solid.

The cab would have been just fine. The seats were comfy. The trunk could hold all of our bags and supplies. The problem? It was driven by Medusa.

You would think we would have been suspicious when a lady in sunglasses and a turban offered half fare. Nico still claims he knew the whole time, but I know he's lying. We were too tired to have thought twice and our mortal money was starting to run thin. Brian got the clue first. He noticed her stare a bit too long at Annabeth and Percy. She was grimacing to her back and wringing her hands. He told Julia and she passed the message on to me. I was getting a sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach, but I knew if we didn't go with her, she would only do whatever she needed to right then and there in the middle of a busy street with thousands of mortals watching. We didn't need the attention.

She drove for hours until she finally stopped in a shady neighborhood.

"This isn't the bus station!" pointed out Nico, taking the role of Captain Obvious.

"No Duh! Why are we here and what do you want with us?" asked Brian as he drew a celestial bronze dagger.

"I knew you brats were going to try and stop Lord Strife and Lord Prometheus. Not that you can, but Lord Strife would rather dispose of you to completely remove all possible chances of success," she sneered. She started to lower the lenses when something in Percy clicked.

"Look away!" he hollered quickly. My brain followed just in time because I felt a chill shimmy down my spine right after.

I ran as fast as my legs could carry to a nearby dirt patch and dropped a magic seed under my feet. The tree limbs supported my weight as they sprouted up and out. I picked a few apples and transformed one into my sling shot base as I pulled out a stretchy-er rubber band and placed an apple in the hole. I took aim for an eye which was hard to do without looking in her eyes. I prayed to my mother and Apollo for a straight and true shot. I closed my eyes as I felt her turn towards me. I released the apple and heard it make contact.

"ARG! You little-" The half-blind hag exclaimed.

"Someone! Now!" I shouted. This was followed by a sickening slice. I saw Annabeth holding her dagger in one hand and a bruised eyed Medusa head in the other.

With that down, we now had to figure out how to get to the bus station in eight hours when we had no clue where we were.


	22. Chapter 22

Julia leads the way

_Sorry this took so long to get this up. To reward your patience, you shall get two chapters today. Yey you! Thanks for the reviews and subscribers! Fair warning, this is a long one, but very worth it!_

I hate being lost. You probably think that someone who has chaos literally running in her blood would find getting lost an adventure or something. It just means I'm uncomfortable. I really hate being uncomfortable! Annabeth checked her watch. It was now 1:36 AM. We had less than six hours to find a bus station in a strange city and it was the middle of the night. Wonderful.

Percy was practicing his sword fighting with Nico. Annabeth was playing with her hat. Nicole was showing Brian how she can control odds by continuously beating him at heads or tails. Julia was just working on her maps.

MAPS! "Julia! Didn't you tell me you could find anyplace anywhere as long as you had your maps and it was night?" I exclaimed suddenly. Her eyes flew open in recognition.

"I can't believe I forgot about that! Quick! Any of you remember the address of the station?" she asked Percy, Annabeth, and Nicole. Nicole produced a sheet of paper with writing on it. "Perfect! Ok, if my maps are correct, and I can promise they are, it will take us… 9 hours to walk there on foot!" she whined.

"Who said we had to travel by foot?" I asked. I pulled out my bag of seeds again and created four new trees. "Quick, grab as many apples as you can!" I hollered as I began to climb the nearest tree. I grabbed apples and started flinging them into my bag. "Throw them towards the street. As close to my tree as possible, please!" I heard people acknowledging my comment as apples started to fly away from their trees towards me as if by invisible wires.

After roughly an hour and a half, the trees were bare and a large mound of bruised apples was on the street, having been moved once gathered. I was thanking the gods I had lasted long enough in the auto repair elective to be able to construct a vehicle engine in my mind. I mentally surrounded it with the only type of vehicle body I could think of that would hold all of us. I took a deep breath and practically hugged the apple mound, touching as many apples as I could and praying to my mother the rest would follow in kind.

She must have heard me as a moment later I was attempting to hug a golden limo. The others exclaimed with joy and ran to the other side to get in as quickly as possible. I felt my legs grow limp underneath me and I used my fingers to dig into the malleable car body to prevent myself from kissing the pavement. I felt like someone was watching me try and keep stable. I groaned as I used the vehicle as a crutch to turn myself around. My eyes found Nico's, and for a moment, his flickered with concern.

"First day on the new legs?" he asked with a mild smirk.

"The car took more out of me than I thought. Darn!" I attempted to joke as the world turned blurry for a moment. I blinked hard to clear my vision.

"I can tell. Care to tell me how much?" he inquired.

"No. You'd just get angry. Do you want to get in or what?" I attempted to joke. He started towards the car hood to cross to the driver's side. I gently eased myself towards the front passenger door. It took all of my power not to fall into the seat. Nico was looking frantically for the ignition. I pulled out a key with a fruity aroma. I focused on the dashboard in front of me. Suddenly, a key slot formed.

"Any particular reason you have the ignition?" His voice no longer masked his fear for my rapidly declining energy.

"She runs on me. I'm the first inexpensive environmentally friendly fuel!" I managed to spit out. I turned the key before he could stop me. The car purred to life. My arm suddenly felt really heavy.

"Julia? Can you guide Nico wherever?" I slurred.

"Yes… Are you all right, Lissa?" she called, catching the speech impediment.

"Dandy! How long?" I asked. How long had it been since we got in?

"We should be able to make it in… three hours! The bus leaves in four hours, which means we should have enough time to buy tickets and get our things on board before it leaves." Man! Julia talks too much!

"Drive!" I told… that one guy. It hurts thinking when you're sleepy.

_ Hmm… What shall happen next? Find out in chapter 22! Review please!_


	23. Chapter 23

Mental Note to Self-If Tired, Don't Talk

_As promised! This and chapter 21 were supposed to be together, but I think this one deserves its own chapter. I can give you more of it, too. Enjoy! I temporally changed a couple of people's names-Nico and Julia. I think you will figure out who is who, though._

The drive-y guy and talky girl said a bunch of stuff. It was boring. I wanted drive-y guy to stop talking. He's too pretty to talk.

"Shhhh… talking…dumb…." I told him. Pretty drive-y guy said something about staying with him.

"Pretty… guy… funny…. In car…can't go…. Silly Pret…ty guy…." I laughed. I suddenly realized why he was so pretty! He was pretty so others could know what pretty felt like! I had to know the secret, too.

"Lissa, care to explain why you are touching my face?" Pretty Guy asked. My fingers told me he was happy, but he was confused, too.

"Must… touch…pretty…. Must…know… how it…feels…. You like…it…me…touch…ing…." I told him. His cheeks got really hot. His pretty face turned a pretty red. I giggled.

"That may be so, but won't your boyfriend in the backseat get jealous?" Pretty Guy asked. My fingers whispered again as they traced his strong jaw bone that he was mad and sad thinking about someone in the back kissing me. I giggled at the silly Pretty Guy.

"No… kissing…other…guy…. Only…want…kiss…you…."I told him, fingers dancing on the aforementioned lips. The lips told my fingers that Pretty Guy was surprised. "Can't…though! Must…not…lose…this…one…. This…one…," my eyelids drooped, "could…break…heart…. I…maybe…hurt…this…one…. Must…lie….Keep…broken…smile…. Better…he…angry…not…hurt…. I…not…hurt…too…. So…sleepy…." I told him. Fingers told me he was scared about me sleeping. Worried I won't wake up.

"Please Lissa! Please stay awake longer! I promise you can kiss me whenever you want as long as you stay awake until we get to the bus station. Just don't sleep now. PLEASE!" Pretty Guy's face started to leak. My heart hurt. I wanted his face to stay dry! I tried as hard as I could to lift my heavy head up long enough to let it drop like I was nodding.

"Tell…stories….I…listen…." I manage to say. Talking was hard!

"Ok. I will tell you of the strongest girl I know. I met her not too long ago. She was tall, dark, and beautiful. You could tell by looking at her that she was one of a kind, even if she had no clue about it. I think I was hit by the bitter arrow of love the moment I saw her. She seemed to personify luck. If she gave you one of her beautiful smiles, you just knew your day was going to be good. If you made her sad, nothing would ever go right. The most amazing part about her was her ability to give and give and give. If she could at least make your day better, she would go to the ends of the earth to do whatever it took. The only problem was it usually took just that. No matter how hard you tried to tell her you were fine, she would just smile and continue to help you. She even tried to help save me from herself by denying she cared for me. I was just too dense to realize it. I jumped to conclusions and made unforgivable judgments of her and I know in the morning, when she wakes up and remembers nothing of this night, she will continue to make her life Hades rather than let me hold her close and help her. Just to make me smile. I don't deserve to smile, though. I don't deserve to even attempt to make her smile. I don't deserve her," the Pretty Guy said through the water dribbling down his face. My heart hurt so much!

"Idiot!" a voice from behind said. "She may not remember tonight in the morning, but the rest of us will! _We_ can tell her what happened and have her so embarrassed she will never even be able to be in the same room as you, or when she wakes up, you can tell her to stop being stupid and date you. I would put it more eloquently, but make her realize you don't care who she is. Make her realize that the fact she is herself is all you care about. Stop wasting time thinking about what could happen if you told her and actually do it!"

"Wow Percy! Way to give a pep talk. Now I know what sweet nothings you told Annabeth when you asked her out. By the way, take a left up here. We should see the station in five minutes on the right," the talky girl said. So tired….

"I know what he's saying, Julia. I'll talk to her on the bus. Hopefully that conversation won't be so rudely interrupted!" The other people laughed. My lids felt so heavy. "You can close your eyes now, Lissa. I promise I will make this dream real when you open them again." I obeyed as I felt the car slow to a complete stop. Last thing I remember before pure exhaustion took me was a slight pressure on my forehead. Someone was kissing it.

_YEP! It took long enough, but they finally know how they feel about each at least Nico knows enough to do something about it. For the record, I was totally Percy during his little speech. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Check in again next week to see if Nico will keep his promise! Review please!_


	24. Chapter 24

So Fake Sleeping has Benefits

_So yeah…. It has been a really long time since I updated. It isn't the fact that I didn't have the ideas, but it is the fact that college is kicking me from here to China and back. I love most of my classes, but the work load is huge. As a reward for your pacience, I am putting up two chapters at once and a plan to put up a couple more chapters next week during fall break. I will be honest. After fall break, you probably will have to wait again for more until around Thanksgiving….. I love you all and sorry!_

I woke up after many nightmares of what would happen if my brother prevailed. I would give you all the gory details (literally), but I promise you that these dreams will haunt me for the rest of my days and I won't cause you that pain.

I was too exhausted to open my eyes, but the gentle rocking motion and distant hums of passing vehicles told me I was on the bus, so that meant I did my job. Yey! The second thing I noticed was people talking above me. I strained to hear.

"-, what are you going to do when she wakes up and sees you with your arm around her and staring down at her like a creeper?" a male voice spoke. Percy? What was he talking about? And to whom?

"Percy," a low whispered voice right above me confirmed, "you are going to be the _reason_ she wakes up. Keep it down. She needs the sleep." The voice was hard to distinguish.

"I'll keep it down. No worries," Percy answered much softer than before. "Are you sure that she should still be sleeping? I mean, I know you enjoy her cuddling with you, but we're going to be getting off soon."

I processed what he was saying as I began to discover my surroundings. I felt the arm Percy mentioned earlier gently caressing my right shoulder. I found my pillow was really a well-toned chest. I could hear a racing heartbeat just below my ear. It matched my quickening heart rate. I was starting to hope that my "pillow" would be too distracted by Percy to notice. The caressing hand was moving up to play with a strand of my hair. It took every single brain and muscle cell in my body to not jump in surprise. I did suck in a fast breath that didn't go unnoticed.

"Another vision, you think?" Percy asked the voice, anxiety just barely leaking into the whisper.

"Wouldn't surprise me. It's better than the one earlier. She was crying and calling out to…. Yeah, that one was the worse," The voice whispered back, matching the concern Percy showed but mixing in hatred and anger. "Her brother needs to back off."

"If you keep up with the defensive boyfriend act, she might tell you the same thing," Percy teased the voice.

"I know that she will probably be so angry when she wakes up, but if that exhaustion induced confession was true, I will live with her anger for the rest of my life. I am happy just knowing that she likes me. She probably has her reasons for keeping it and I won't push it," the voice sighed. Confession? When did I confess anythi-The events of the previous night hit me like a ton of bricks. Oh Gods!

"She speaks! Ok Nico, your line!" Percy exclaimed as I realized two things- 1) I spoke that last part out loud, and 2) the "pillow" was Nico. Hades, take me now.

_Ain't I a stinker? Ok, now read the next chapter! DO IT! You know you want to !_


	25. Chapter 25

Awkward, party of two? Your bus seat is ready!

_As promised, your second chapter. Enjoy!_

The first thing I felt needed to be done was to get off Nico's chest. Unfortunately, he felt otherwise, so the hand that had been playing with my hair decided to use its proximity to my head to hold it in place.

"You just woke up from exhaustion that could have killed you and the first thing you do is try and get up? Yeah, not happening," he scolded me.

"Ok then…. But…. I'm like on your chest," I stated the obvious.

"Really? I hadn't noticed," he quipped back.

"I guess that isn't a problem? I mean… this is… you know… kind of intimate…." I rambled knowing my face glowed brighter than Rudolph's nose. His face fell as did his hand.

"Umm…" he said, as if trying to make what he was doing ok. I realized though that I really missed the hand that was playing with my hair. So I grabbed it back.

"I never said I didn't like it…." I whispered as I looked up at his face. He was as red as I felt.

"Ok…" he replied, but I felt his hand return to its previous job.

"Do you mind it?" I asked.

"Never did," he whispered.

"KISS! KISS! KISS!" Percy chanted, reminding me of his presence. I leaned to grab one of my apples, but felt Nico stop me. I look up to find him giving Percy his famous Death Glare.

"Annabeth, can you come and get Percy out of here?" Nico asked, eyes never breaking contact. I hear someone else moving in the seat behind me before a hand pulled Percy back into his seat. "Thanks." He finally turned back to me once the head of the Earthshaker's son disappeared behind the seat top.

"So…" I said, smooth as sandpaper.

"So…" he repeated, making me a bit happier cause he was a bit tongue-tied too.

"Umm… your chest is very comfortable?" I said, regretting the words the second they left my mouth.

"Thanks…I think," he said, though his eyes seemed to feel that he could have said something better.

I suddenly had no clue what to say. I felt so stupid and random, but that's what happened. I decided that rather than talk, I would show. His free hand was sitting on his lap, looking rather lonely. I chose to fix that by lacing my fingers with his. He gently squeezed to show that he was ok with it. A smile stretched across my face. I suddenly felt like somewhere Aphrodite was laughing, but I decided to let it go.

"This is nice…"he tried to start again. I have no idea what possibly took me over in that moment, but I just knew there was only one way to keep us from attempting to talk.

"Nico, shut up," I whispered before breaking free of his hold and kissing him. I could feel I caught him more than off guard, but after a moment, he didn't seem to care. Seconds, hours, life times, I will never know how long passed, but whatever it was halted when my lungs demanded attention.

"Apples," Nico said between gasping breaths.

"What about them?" I asked, thinking he was trying to make small talk again.

"You taste like apples, which is good because they are my favorite fruit," he said, wearing his usual sly grin as he pulled me back in for kiss number two. I noticed a subtle aroma coming from him. It was exotic and reminded me of insence.

"What cologne are you wearing?" I asked after our moment of pure bliss ended. I rested my head on his shoulder and was hit by another wave of the mysterious smell.

"I'm not?" he answered in a confused voice, "Being on a quest doesn't really give those of us outside Aphrodite's cabin much time for date prep work." He chuckled a bit at his own joke.

"Hmmm…" I said thoughtfully as I enjoyed the intoxicating smell. It finally connected in my brain. "Myrrh," I said, "You smell like myrrh."

"What about myrrh?" I heard a suddenly concerned Annabeth ask as she peaked her head over the seat. "It's back luck to burn myrrh outside of funerals!"

That was when it hit me. Nico smelled of death.

_Don't shoot me for the delays! I am really trying my hardest to get these up as fast as possible. Lissa herself has been threatening me with her apples to get these up. I love you all and you should read the new Olympians series! __The Lost Hero__ rocks! Oh! And on the off chance up to this point you thought I owned anyone besides Nicole, Brian, Julia, and of course Lissa, then you are SADLY mistaken and should stop reading now! I am not Mr. Riordian, but I really wish I was. Please keep reading and I will be back ASAP!_


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